Step One: Survival
by Pixelfun20
Summary: EclipseClan is in shambles. Their home destroyed by Twolegs and reeling from the rule of a weak leader, the inexperienced deputy Gorsewater must lead the clan to a new home. Meanwhile, in StarClan, Ashenstep, a new arrival, discovers that the worlds of life and death are very much intertwined, and that a threat much greater than EclipseClan's homelessness is rising...
1. Prologue 1

**Prologue 1:**

Lightstar was a fool.

A complete, utter fool.

Blazingpelt hissed to herself as her claws tore into the soft dirt below her, her eyes glued to the shimmering pool of starlit water at her feet. Her ginger fur spiked along her spine, her teeth gritted as she watched the scene developing in the living world.

At first, Lightstar had seemed like an easy target for her plans. An young and ambitious warrior, with a graduated apprentice, yet with a mate he didn't love and itching for something more. He was so, so easy to fool. Saving his life from a rockfall had won him over completely.

The plan had been simple. Blazingpelt knew she was a beautiful cat, so winning his heart and 'love' was easy. So much so that the requirements of killing his apprentice and best friend for a chance to rule alongside her had only caused minor complaints. Killing the friend, Stormfern, had happened quickly, and once Lightstar had committed the cruel deed, he had become even more entwined in her grasp. Getting him to slaughter his own former apprentice when she learned too much had only taken a couple days to convince him to go along with.

Sure, problems arose when she had to get rid of Sunstar, but the problem solved itself when the mouse-brain got himself caught by Twolegs. Guiding some foxes to his deputy, Ferretheart, was even easier. Her death had been especially enjoyable to watch, considering she was the daughter of—

 _Thunderstrike lashed out at her, claws opened wide as he slashed at her face. Blazingpelt barely ducked, the claws grazing the top of her head as Ferretkit and her mother, Lilyfur, watched emotionlessly from the side. Blood sprayed through the air._

" _Mama, why is Papa fighting Blazingpelt?"_

" _Quiet, dear. She's a traitor to us all."_

Blazingpelt hissed again, her claws digging up the ground and shaking the thoughts out of her mind. Curse Lightstar for bringing up her past to her mind again!

But anyways. She had come so _close_. Lightstar had risen to leader after Sunstar, thanks to her. She finally had a puppet to enact her revenge with.

But then Lightstar had begun to go off the deep end. What had caused it, she hardly knew. Perhaps it had been the weight of responsibility or the guilt for killing two of the closest cats in his life, but he had abruptly stopped listening to her after he became leader. Most likely it was the latter.

Considering Lightstar had appointed Gorsewater, a cat who was extremely unprepared for the job, as deputy just because he was the father of his deceased apprentice made that particular choice obvious.

Blazingpelt finally stopped her attack on the dirt, the anger beginning to seep out of her as she thought. No. She could work with this. She could work with anything that anyone threw at her. That was what made her so great in the first place. With Lightstar dead (honestly, he'd practically been _trying_ to lose lives in the end, it seemed), and the inexperienced Gorsewater leading now, she was in a better position to finally destroy Eclipseclan once and for all.

A small smile slipped across her face. Yes, she could work with this. All she needed now was a new pawn, someone who wasn't as idiotic and easy to break as Lightstar, to finish off the clan. Considering they had just had their home destroyed, it'd be easy.

And once Lightstar finally wound up in the Dark Forest, she was going to make him _pay._

* * *

 **Heyo, it's Pixel here, with a new story that they** _ **really**_ **shouldn't be starting. Whoo…**

 **Anyways, this is a partial SYOC (Submit Your Own OC) so… Yay?**

 **I've been wanting to start this story for around a half a year now. It's actually based off of an old RP that I was participating in on the Warriors Amino back in early September. But the chat died right as it was getting to the good part, which made me want to pull out my hair, honestly. So here I am, finally getting around to writing this story, which takes place just before the old RP ended. So there** _ **is**_ **a backstory to this story, but it'll be explained more throughout later chapters.**

 **However, I am also working on two original projects at this time, which will be taking precedence over this story. Not that this won't be updated, just that it will be more slowly.**

 **EDIT: Special thanks to all the users who donated: Sunny the Sky Warrior, Dark Hart (guest), Random Cat (guest), AnonChan1, KazumioKazaki, 1quintisfan (guest), Ein Storm (guest), and Catastrophe (guest). I will probably call for an OC or two as the story progresses, but now we have the basic cats!**

 **Here are the allegiances as of Chapter 1!:**

EclipseClan Allegiances:

Leader: Gorsewater—A gray tabby tom with darker stripes and dark blue eyes

Deputy: Icetail—A white tom with a gray tail-tip and amber eyes. Apprentice, Wolfpaw

Med Cat: Lunarstream—Silver-gray she-cat with darker paws and dark green eyes. Apprentice, Frostpaw

Warriors:

Tornwhisker—Brown tabby tom with dark amber eyes

Brightbelly—A pale golden tom with two grey spots, one on his flank and the other on his shoulder, and green eyes

Hailstripe—Tickled tabby she-cat with light and dark grey fur, a long tail, and dark green eyes

Cloudfeather—Large, mottled gray tabby tom with a long, feathery tail, pale yellow eyes

Lilymist—Soft-furred white she-cat with tortoiseshell patches and amber eyes

Sharpeye—Sandy ginger tom with green eyes

Wheatclaw—Light ginger she-cat with amber eyes. Apprentice, Beechpaw

Feathermist—Long-furred large gray-and-white mottled tom with blue eyes. Apprentice, Rainpaw

Sheepheart—A fluffy white and pale gray she-cat with large paws and blue eyes. Apprentice, Leafpaw

Spiderfang—Short-furred dark gray tom with one yellow and one blue eye.

Blizzardstone—Dappled brown she-cat with light green eyes

Apprentices:

Beechpaw—Pale silver-and-white tabby tom with green eyes

Wolfpaw—Gray tabby tom with black facial markings and yellow eyes

Leafpaw—Mottled brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Rainpaw—Small spotted tabby she-cat with thick, light grey fur and darker markings, along with golden eyes.

Frostpaw—Tickled tabby she-cat with dark grey and black fur, a long tail, and dark green eyes

Queens:

Silverfall—Sliver-gray she-cat with white stripes and green eyes (Mother of Tornwhisker's kits: Creekkit and Graykit)

Fallowcloud—A black and ginger tortoiseshell she-cat (Mother of Sharpeye's kits: Cowkit, Poppykit, and Cherrykit)

Kits:

Cowkit—Black tom with a white chest and muzzle with blue eyes

Poppykit—Tortoiseshell and ginger she-cat with green eyes

Cherrykit—Dark ginger she-cat with blue eyes

Creekkit—Gray tabby she-cat with a lighter belly and amber eyes

Graykit—Solid gray tom with darker paws and amber eyes

Elders:

Bluefang—Blue-gray she-cat

Goldenfur—A dark golden tom with pale amber eyes and a plumy tail

Rogues/Loners/Kittypets:

Opal—Small, white she-cat with seal points and bright green eyes

Jadestone—Dark gray-black tabby she-cat with bright, pale green eyes

Ditcher—A small she-cat with dark green eyes and a cream sepia coat, with a darker tint to her face, ears, tail, and paws

Rosa— Large she-cat with lilac shaded fur, mint green eyes, and a long, incredibly fluffy tail

Jumanji—Large, black furred tomcat with a white dorsal stripe, copper eyes, and a long tail.

Teller—Old, frail brown tabby tomcat, with graying fur and a missing right ear.

Dancer (Frostdapple)—White she-cat with long, thick fur, with blue-gray dapples and pretty icy-colored eyes

Dandelion—A small, bright golden tom with white paws and green eyes.

Sugar— An average sized white she-cat with large, pale brown patches

Starclan:

Barkstar—Large light brown she-cat with amber eyes

Rabbitstar—Very light tan tom with darker paws, ears, tail, muzzle, and turquoise eyes.

Sunstar—White-and-ginger patched tom with leaf-green eyes

Braveclaw—Light gray she-cat with a white underbelly, muzzle, and blue eyes.

Vineslip—Silver-gray tabby she-cat with black stripes, a white tail-tip, chest, underbelly, and hindpaw, and pale yellow-amber eyes

Thornmask—Dark gray-brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Ashfall—Pale silver-gray she-cat with tabby markings and green eyes

Roseberry—Sleek, pale gray-brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Fogface—Small spotted tabby tom, with thick, dark grey and black fur and bright gold eyes

Stonekit—Tiny, dark gray tabby she-kit with blue eyes

Ashenstep—Pale gray tabby she-cat with darker paws and ears with dark blue eyes.

Dark Forest:

Lightstar—A handsome ginger tom with bright blue eyes

Blazingpelt—Bright ginger she-cat with a white muzzle, chest, and ice blue eyes

Crookedwhisper—Heavily scarred ginger tom with amber eyes

Ashfeather—A gray she-cat with long fur, large, sharp claws, and green eyes

Elkwing—A dark brown tabby tom with a thick pelt, forest green eyes

Bonefoot—A pale grey tom with a white-tipped tail and dark amber eyes


	2. Prologue 2

**As this takes place after an RP, we'll be hitting the ground running. This chapter is more laid back, though, but doesn't go as into detail in the state of the clan as it does the characters. Mostly this is just me figuring out how to write the submitted characters and my OCs while I wait for more OCs to come in.**

 **So it's okay if you don't like this chapter. The whole story certainly will not be written this slowly. There will be one more prologue (of which I am much more excited for), and then the official story will begin.**

* * *

" _From this moment onwards, Ashenpaw, you will be known as Ashenstep! Starclan honors you for your boundless energy and endless optimism, and we honor your entrance into Eclipseclan as a full warrior!"_

 _Sunstar's words echoed through the small hollow that was their camp, and Gorsewater raised his voice to be the loudest of them all, pride making him feel as if his chest was about to burst. His daughter, his last surviving kit, had made it to become a fully-fledged warrior! He felt as proud as if she had been his own apprentice, and though some had looked down on him for keeping such a close relationship with her as she grew, but in this moment Gorsewater knew that it was all worth it._

 _Ashenstep herself seemed like she was about to explode, bouncing from paw to paw as she looked over her clanmates. Her eyes landed on Lightfall, her mentor, then moved onto Feathermist for moment longer than was necessary (it was quite obvious the two were in love. Gorsewater himself wasn't too sure what to think about that), before finally landing on her father._

 _Identical dark blue eyes connected, both glittering with so many different emotions. Though Ashenstep was his spitting image, Gorsewater could suddenly see his deceased mate, Embercloud, in her excitement at passing her assessment, and his other daughter, Fawnkit, in her lanky build._

 _After a moment, Ashenstep couldn't hold herself back any longer, and launched herself at her father, licking him giddily on the cheek. Gorsewater stepped back for a moment, slightly embarrassed at receiving such a public display of emotion, before recovering quickly with a deep laugh._

" _You're a warrior now, Ashenstep!" He chuckled. "You need to start acting like it!"_

" _Oh, but thought I'd always be your kit," his daughter shot back teasingly, shooting him a knowing look._

" _You know what I mean," Gorsewater snorted, exaggerating the roll of his eyes. "You can't ever expect Feathermist to take you seriously if you keep on acting like this."_

 _Ashenstep's ears shot up in embarrassment. "Father!"_

 _Then they both laughed, talking about her training and kitten days until Ferretheart called Ashenstep over to begin her vigil._

Gorsewater's eyes shot open, Ashenstep's laugh ringing in his ears. For a moment, he didn't move other than that, wishing to just lay in his makeshift nest, tail curled neatly over his nose. He didn't want to shake away the last remains of the wonderful memory-dream he'd just experienced. Who knew when it'd take away the nightmares that plagued him now again.

For just a couple heartbeats, he was able to pretend once again that he was back in camp, that Ashenstep was waiting outside for him and Feathermist sat nearby, wanting to talk to his crush but unwilling to make the first move. For a couple seconds, he even imagined that Embercloud and Fawnkit, now a warrior, were waiting for him as well.

Then a gust of harsh, cold wind buffeted him, and Gorsewater sighed, knowing he couldn't delude himself any longer. It was time to get up, whether he wanted to or not.

His bones popped stiffly as he stood up, squinting his eyes as they faced the harsh day that would be ahead of him. He shook himself out then, letting his thick fur fluff up and protect himself from the late leaf-bare wind. Hopefully new-leaf would come early this year. The last thing Eclipseclan needed was a late new-leaf, especially at this point in time.

Now fully awake, the tabby tom stepped out through the dens ferns he's claimed as his den the night before, stepping into the small clearing that they had claimed as their own. Several warriors were scattered among the clearing, awake already, and Gorsewater realized with a jolt that he had overslept. Why hadn't anyone woken him up? However, he only sighed, exasperated at himself, and took inventory of Eclipseclan. _His_ clan, now, he reminded himself, but thinking of himself as a leader still just didn't feel right.

Feathermist was awake already, having taken a small mouse off of the meager fresh-kill pile to share with his apprentice, Rainpaw. The spotted she-cat was the only cat he'd seen to remain optimistic about the situation (even now she was chattering without pause to Feathermist about when her first hunting assessment would be, despite the fact that they didn't have a territory to host it in), but Gorsewater privately attributed it to her youth and blind trust that everything was going to continue on as normal.

Feathermist looked up, catching Gorsewater's eyes. They shone with worry and grief, the first for his apprentice who was so innocent, and the latter for all the recent events that had taken place. But then again, everyone felt the same.

The was a shifting to his left, and Gorsewater turned to see Sheepheart exit the large bush that the warriors had laid claim to, tugging several stray twigs out of her thick fur as she did so. She didn't seem like she had slept well last night, stumbling over her rather large paws for a moment before righting herself and continuing to get something to eat. Her usual hyperactivity had seemed to have slipped away from her, and she yawned loudly as she padded over to Beechpaw, her younger brother, who had saved her a vole. Neither moved much or spoke as they ate; both of their parents had died in an attack just a half moon ago.

Then there were Bluefang and Silverfall, elder and queen respectively, sitting next to each other, the blue-gray she-cat sharing early morning tongues with her daughter. Completing the three generations of cats were Silverfall's two kits, Creekkit and Cowkit. Creekkit was playing with one of the other kits in the nursery, Poppykit, while Cowkit watched from the side, cheering quietly. Silverfall looked up, giving her leader a skeptical but mostly tired look, then turned back to her kits.

Gorsewater frowned lightly, his chest tightening as he remembered a similar yet very different scene, and turned away to find his deputy.

And nearly bumped into a white tom with a gray tail-tip.

"Oh, excuse me," Gorsewater apologised, stepping away. His ear-tips burned in embarrassment that he hadn't seen the other cat coming up behind him. "How did you sleep last night, Icetail?"

The elder tom shrugged. "Alright, though my bones are stiff from the bush; it kept on dripping water on me. I just wanted to let you know that I sent out a patrol with Tornwhisker, Wheatclaw, Hailstripe, and Leafpaw. They're also scouting out the area ahead of us to see what's out there."

"Thank you, Icetail," Gorsewater responded, dipping his head and letting the gratefulness for his old friend wash over him. Icetail had been his mentor back when he was an apprentice, and had helped him through the various trials of his life with his calming demeanor and comforting presence. When Gorsewater had suddenly found himself thrust into the position of deputy and later leader, Icetail had become his second in command. He was practically his second father.

"What's bothering you?" Icetail asked gently. "Have you eaten yet?"

"What _aren't_ I worried about?" Gorsewater admitted. "Which way should we go? Can the elders and kits make the journey? What if leaf-bare lasts longer than usual? All these questions and I don't have the faintest idea on how to solve them."

"Well, these are dire times for our clan," Icetail replied. "Has Lunarstream heard anything?"

"From Starclan? Nothing. Not even a whisper. No doubt they don't approve of me."

"Nonsense. Our ancestors work on their own time. We'll hear from them soon enough, and then we'll find a place where you can receive your nine lives and become our official leader." The Shining Hollow, their connection to Starclan, had been one of the first places destroyed. There had been no dreams or signs from their ancestors ever since, leaving Gorsewater technically still deputy of a leaderless Eclipseclan. Now, though, Icetail was deputy in all but name. Gorsewater didn't think it was right to appoint him to such a position without gaining his lives, and he and Lunarstream had agreed.

"Gorsewater! Icetail!"

The two toms turned to see Rainpaw padding up to them, Frostpaw, her sister, following silently behind.

"Frostpaw says she and Lunarstream need more marigolds and travelling herbs or whatever. But Lunarstream's busy doing some medicine cat stuff—I'm not really sure what, I wasn't paying much attention though I guess I should have been. Feathermist always says thats my greatest flaw though I always thought it was my fighting skills—so she asked Frostpaw to go look instead and then she got me and we came to ask you so can we go? _Please_?" She was practically hopping from paw to paw. Gorsewater and Icetail shared a look. Only Rainpaw. Her father, Fogface, had been captured along with Sunstar two seasons ago, back when she was a kit. Yet she had never seemed to let it bother her more than necessary.

"We were wondering if we could take Hailstripe with us," Frostpaw put in quietly, referring to her mother. The medicine cat apprentice had become rather quiet and distant in contrast to her sister.

Gorsewater shared a questioning look with Icetail, who simply shrugged, shooting him a knowing look. No doubt he wanted Gorsewater to make a decision on this issue. He sent a look to his old mentor, not amused, but let it drop and turned back to the sisters.

"Hm." He glanced up at the sky, which was heavy with dark gray rainclouds. It was going to rain tonight, perhaps into tomorrow. And as much as he detested the sparsely forested area his clan had camped in, it was no weather to be travelling in. "Hailstripe is on patrol with… Wolfpaw, Wheatclaw, and Tornwhisker, right?"

"Yes," Icetail nodded.

"So take Feathermist, and maybe someone else if they're available. Try to find some prey while you're at it."

"Sir, yes sir!" Rainpaw squeaked, bounding off again to find her mentor. Frostpaw rolled her eyes in a sort of loving annoyance that only littermates could have, and followed her at a much slower rate.

Gorsewater let out a long breath, feeling relieved that he had managed that situation what he hoped was adequately enough. He'd only been deputy (and a pretty useless one at that) for a little more than two moons before Lightstar died, and since the light gray tom had died several sunrises before, had been struggling with leading the clan as they raced away from the Twolegs that had torn up their home. Icetail had been helping, but there were times he wouldn't lend his aid and left Gorsewater on his own.

"You're going to have to learn how to lead this clan eventually," Icetail announced, quietly so that Bluefang and Silverfall wouldn't hear. "And I won't always be here to help."

"I don't know what was going through Lightstar's head when he appointed me as deputy," Gorsewater shook his head. "Not to speak ill of the dead, of course, but we never really got along after… well, you know. It was totally out of the blue for him to appoint me."

Icetail nodded slowly. "I have to admit, you were one of the last cats I expected. But—" he gave the new leader a knowing look. "I do think you have what it takes."

"This may be the one time when you're wrong."

Icetail looked slightly exasperated. "Please. Sheepheart and Feathermist have had faith in you and I since the beginning. And Hailstripe and Tornwhisker are optimistic as well. I won't lie; the clan is hanging by a mouse's tail right now. And they're depending on you to hold us together, Gorsewater. The real trick will be learning how to depend on yourself."

Gorsewater sighed. "But what are we supposed to do? Stay here? Go towards the rising sun, or the setting sun? Keep on moving forwards?"

Icetail shrugged. "I'm not a bottomless pit of information, Gorsewater. You know that. Where we go next is up to you. Though I think we can both say that we cannot stay here."

Gorsewater nodded. Eclipseclan's old territory had been in and around a deep ravine. They had grown up with the trees shading their backs and leaping from one rocky outcropping to another. The place they had temporarily camped in was practically a flat, open moor, and definitely could not sustain such a large population of cats for long.

"I'll talk to Lunarstream," he announced, voice heavy. "Hopefully we can find a way to communicate with Starclan. They're the only ones who can truly save us now."

* * *

 **I hope there weren't any typos in here. I'm horrible at editing my own work and I don't have a beta.**

 **Review Replies:**

 **Sunny the Sky Warrior** —Thank you very much for the review and being the first to submit an OC!

 **Dark Hart** —Thank you very much for your submission, but you are a guest, and I'm putting PM reviews in first. I do plan to put in Blizzardpaw, but not as an apprentice, perhaps as a rogue. Thank you again!

 **Random Cat** —Thank you very much for your submission as well, but please read the rules in Prologue 1 so Frostdapple can be considered as a submission.

 **AnonChan1** —I'm glad that you like the story. I'm honestly just writing it on a whim to destress from my two original works (thank you writer's block). I don't know what I'm doing but it's been fun. And yes, Blazingpelt is a bit unhinged, though seasons in the Dark Forest have done most of that, not really her life in the clan (and I'm not saying any more than that ;-) ). Her backstory is around the only thing I have planned in this so far.

 **So yeah. If any of you have ideas on how this story should go, please review/PM it to me. I have a basic outline (I know the beginning and how it'll probably end), but getting some ideas from you readers will be fun! Shoot some at me!**

 **I'll see you all later!**

 **P.S. I really need to shorten my ANs...**


	3. Prologue 3

**Bleh. This chapter was a bit harder to write than the first two, probably because I wanted it to be perfect (which I couldn't do, but oh well. I gave up after the second rewrite of a certain scene). The ending is a bit rushed, but I couldn't think of a way to end it, so…**

 **Yeah. Sorry. Hope you like this last prologue.**

 **Sorry for any typos.**

 **This chapter is in plain third person, rather than my usual third person limited.**

* * *

 _EclipseClan lives in the same universe as the original series, taking place around eight seasons after Omen of the Stars. A Vision of Shadows may or may not be taking place during this story, as I haven't actually read it yet, haha._

 _Background:_

 _Eclipseclan was formed approximately ten years after the formation of the clans, when a tom from SkyClan, Eagleflight, fell in love with a rouge she-cat. Knowing this was against the code and that his time in the clan had been drastically shortened as a result, he began talking to several close friends of his about leaving. And when his mate became pregnant, he resolved with a heavy heart to leave his home clan, knowing they would never accept his kits. Taking with him several very close friends and several warriors from ThunderClan who disagreed with the current code, they left in the dead of night, determined to travel far away to a place where they could live in peace._

 _Time passed. Eagleflight and his old clanmates began to grow old, and a new, more wild generation began to rise. Eagleflight began to worry for both himself and his kits, who were now warrior-aged. Without a clan and now just nomadic loners, what would they become? Would they even go to Starclan?_

 _At the same time, the eldest of Eagleflight's kits, Sky, was thinking in much the same way his father was. Charismatic, idealistic, and a natural leader, he took it upon himself to create his own clan, styled after the original five clans he had grown up idolizing. Things went well, and soon a clan was formed in a deep ravine, with cliffs those of SkyClan descent could jump over and dense forests for the ThunderClan cats._

 _There was much debate over what to name the clan. Eagleflight wished to name the clan SkyClan after his birth clan, while some preferred for RavineClan or LeafClan._

 _However, it was Raven, Eagleflight's youngest daughter and soon to be the clan's first medicine cat, who decided in the end. She received a vision from their friends who had passed on to StarClan, of a dark object covering the sun and the image of her mother._

 _The clan was named EclipseClan, after Eagleflight's rogue mate._

 _And there they lived in relative peace until the beginning of this story._

* * *

 **Prologue 3:**

The scene was beautiful. A thick forest took over much of the land, its leaves a vibrant green that cast dappled shades across the cool dirt ground. Several steep hills rose in the direction of the rising sun. A river cut a streak of blue through the forest as well, moving lazily along in the midafternoon light.

Yet, if one moved far enough away from this scene, in the direction of the setting sun, they would begin to see a dark scourge begin to take shape off in the distance. And if one moved even closer, they could see the dark scourge transform itself into another forest, one very different than the forest on the light side of the scene. This forest looked dark and dreary, the trees in a state of perpetual late leaf-fall compared to the light forest's greenleaf. A distinct scent of crowfood wafted away from it, and if one listened close enough, they could just barely hear a whisper in the wind, full of anguish and despair.

The two forests were separated by an empty dirt path, around two fox-lengths long. The path looked quite eerie, with the darkened forest on one side and the light forest on the other, both sides ending abruptly where they met the path.

And this was where a young she-cat sat, just inside the border of the light forest, tail curled neatly around her paws. She had light gray tabby fur, with darker ears and paws. Her eyes shone a bright, dark blue, scanning the dark forest in front of her. She was frowning, looking almost as if she didn't want to see what she was looking for. Her claws sheathed and unsheathed impatiently as she looked through the forest, watching quietly.

Then there was the snapping of a twig. The gray she-cat's ears perked up, her eyes widening at the darker forest before realizing that it had come from behind her. She turned around slightly, though she didn't stand, as another cat entered.

This cat was also female, though she appeared much younger than the first she-cat. Three moons old at the most, the tiny kitten wriggled through the bushes with a practiced ease. Her fur was a much darker gray than the older she-cat, and her blue eyes lighter. She padded up to the older cat, and sat down, looking at her knowingly.

"Hey, Stonekit," the elder she-cat purred, though it was slightly forced. She glanced back into the trees, as if she was expecting someone else to follow her new companion. "Why are you out here alone?"

The kit shrugged. "Vineslip is off doing her dream-walking thing with Opal. Ashfall and Roseberry went hunting, and I don't know where Thornmask went. I was bored, so I went looking for you."

"Well… I'm glad you took to me so well. I honestly was expecting to have to stay with Embercloud and Fawnkit until more of my friends joined us." The she-cat licked her chest a couple times, embarrassed that the kitten had taken the time to find her.

"Why wouldn't I?" Stonekit questioned, shifting her feet momentarily. "You're nice. And I really love my family, really, I do, but they can be stifling sometimes." She paused for a moment, thinking, then added: "Ashenstep, what are you doing here?"

The she-cat blinked, shifting her eyes back to gaze into the depths of the darkened forest. "Just… thinking, I suppose."

"You may be thinking," Stonekit announced bluntly. "But you're mostly looking. Are you looking for _him_ again?"

Ashenstep's ears lowered. "...Maybe," she admitted softly. "I just want to ask him why. That isn't exactly a crime."

"I just don't see why you have the need to see him," Stonekit huffed. "You've been here four moons but you're still so…" she paused for a heartbeat, trying to think of the right word before finally giving up. "You know what I mean."

"It's kind of hard to go back to normal when you were murdered in cold blood just as your life was really starting," Ashenstep deadpanned. Her claws flexed.

"I died at two moons, so only _I_ have the right to say that, silly! I think you just need to laugh more. Smile more. Ashfall always says laughing makes you feel better."

"Usually, I would agree with her." Ashenstep's eyes hardened. "But not this time. I need to ask him _why_."

"Lightstar was taking orders from someone in the Dark Forest. We all know that. What other reason do you need?"

"That's a reason, not why," Ashenstep shot back. "I know what made Lightstar do kill me, but not why, if you catch my meaning. I suppose I just hope he'll come up here someday, on the border, so I can talk to him."

"I don't think I understand you," Stonekit hummed, looking frustrated. "If Vineslip was in your position, she'd want justice. Roseberry would go to my mother, Ashfall. Thornmask would want revenge. Yet you just want answers. Why is that?"

"It's not that I'm not mad at him," Ashenstep began slowly, frowning. "I am. Sometimes the anger just churns in my belly like a fire, hot enough to burn. But then…" she let out a long suffering sigh. "He was my mentor, you know?" She chuckled, partially out of embarrassment. "And my first crush, back when I was younger and before Feathermist caught my attention. Whenever I'm angry at him, I think back to when we were happy, before he started listening to the cats in his dreams. And then I just can't wish harm on him."

Stonekit huffed. "I still don't understand."

Ashenstep laughed outright this time. "Ask your sisters when you see them next, then. I'm sure Roseberry or Vineslip can explain my feelings better than I ever could." She finally stood up, stretching. "Let's go. I need to be getting back home soon, or Embercloud will be worried."

Silence greeted her words, and Ashenstep blinked when she received no reply.

"Stonekit?"

She turned around. Stonekit hadn't moved; if anything, she had completely frozen, save it be for the slight rise and fall of her chest. Her wide sky-blue eyes stared unblinkingly at the dark forest on the other side of the dirt path. Ashenstep shifted her paws, looking torn between feeling worried or disturbed.

"You are a fool if you truly have convinced yourself that you are only here for your former mentor," she hissed, voice suddenly lowering several octaves from that of a kit to a fully-grown tom. Ashenstep jumped. Besides the movement for her mouth, Stonekit remained stationary.

"Stonekit?" Ashenstep murmured, ears flattening in worry. "What's wrong with you?"

The kit continued on, as if she couldn't hear her.

"StarClan think that in death they are safe. They are fools to trust so blindly. To think that now their journey is over, that all in the Dark Forest are receiving their just punishments. And yet you seem to know better."

Ashenstep had frozen now as well, looking terrified.

"I-I thought that it was only in my head…"

Stonekit continued to speak unabated.

"You try to convince yourself that the whispers in the night are only your imagination. But you know better. Where the rest of Starclan is complacent, you are alert. Every day, standing guard against an enemy you know nothing about.

"You can feel it in your marrow, that _Other Place_. Where all things truly hungry and evil go."

And then whatever had possessed Stonekit left, and she crumpled to the ground. Ashenstep let out a cry and bounded towards her, but the gray kit was already sitting back up, shaking her head as if to clear it.

"Huh." Stonekit sneezed, her voice returning to its normal near-squeak. "Sorry, I think I spaced out on you. I've been really tired recently. What were you saying?"

Ashenstep's mind worked quickly, and to her credit, only hesitated for a moment.

"Ju-just that we should be getting back to our families," she replied, turning away so Stonekit couldn't see her face. "Come on, let's go."

Stonekit's eyes narrowed, but the appearance of a third cat cut whatever she was about to say off. It was a silver-gray she-cat this time, with pale yellow eyes. Her sides heaved, indicating that she had run a long distance to get to the other two she-cats.

"Vineslip!" Stonekit exclaimed upon her arrival, immediately forgetting whatever question she had wanted to ask. "You've returned!" She frowned suddenly. "And quickly, too. Did Opal have to wake up early?"

"That's just it," Vineslip huffed, out of breath. She must have run a long way to get here. "I couldn't."

"You couldn't?"

"I tried for a long time, but I cannot walk in Opal's dreams. We need to tell everyone, but I wanted to find you first. I can't make contact with the living world!"

"What?!" Ashenstep exclaimed, the second startling revelation making her look like she was about to faint.

"I tried," Vineslip breathed, her usually calm demeanor beginning to slip. "I fell asleep like I usually do when contacting Opal. But nothing happened. She isn't dead, but I can't reach her at all."

Ashenstep blinked slowly, while Stonekit gasped. How Opal, a living loner, had become Vineslip's apprentice was a very long story, and one to be explained at a later time. Suffice it to say that Vineslip visited her "apprentice's" dreams often, and to not be able to visit her was a cause of concern.

"Come on," Vineslip tilted her head in the direction of the mountains. "It took me forever to find you two, and we need to find Sunstar and the others to report this."

"We're coming!" Stonekit chirped. "Right, Ashenstep?"

"...Yes," The gray she-cat nodded, and the three friends bounded off in search of their clanmates.

Ashenstep said nothing about what she had heard from "Stonekit."

* * *

 **So Blazingpelt is scheming, Gorsewater is lost, and Ashenstep has a secret. Ooh~ mysteries. I like those, if you haven't noticed yet. Our three main POVs will be Gorsewater, Ashenstep, and Poppykit/paw.**

 **Please shoot me any theories you have or any scenes you would to see in the story. I'd love to hear them. I've also started posting update dates on my profile. They are tentative and I've never written on a schedule before, but hopefully they'll let me update at steady intervals.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Sunny the Sky Warrior** —I'm happy that you liked the chapter!

 **AnonChan1** Yeah, it pains me to treat Gorsewater this way, but it's crucial to the plot. Knowing I wrote Rainpaw and Frostpaw well was a huge relief. And trust me, EclipseClan has everything _but_ luck right now.

 **Kazumiokazaki** —(1) Don't worry, you're supposed to be confused as to who is who. As for Lightstar, he is very gullible but he really did mean well. Well, at first, and nearer to the end of his life as well. I mean, he did only last six moons as leader, even though he had 6 lives (Sunstar had 3 when he was taken, and Sunstar only died recently, far away from his clan).

(2) That's a relief. I'll get around to fixing that typo (*cough _I'mlazy_ coughcough*), and thank you for pointing that out!

 **Celtic Silver** —Feathermist is probably one of my favorite characters. He's been forced to mature a lot since Ashenstep died. And Gorsewater has Icetail to help him lead (and Icetail honestly should've been chosen as Lightstar's deputy instead, but we all know that Lightstar was well off his rocker by then). I hope I wrote Vineslip and Stonekit well; I wasn't able to get to EclipseClan's situation in StarClan, but hopefully I will in their next chapter.

 **1Quintisfan** —Thank you for your OC! She'll be on probation though until you can read the rules and let me know.


	4. Cutoff

**YES! YES, I HAVE MADE THE DEADLINE!**

 ***Coughs.* Excuse me. Anyways, I had to practically force myself through this chapter. I thought I was writing this story to escape writer's block, not to butt heads with it! Oh, well. This chapter isn't my best, but I feel extremely satisfied to have gotten it out on time. Hopefully I'll get the next chapter out by next Friday!**

 **Please tell me about any my mistakes, so I can fix them in this chapter if I'm not lazy and make sure not to make them in the next chapter.**

 **Before we start, here are the allegiances, now complete! Huge thanks to all the donors! I've complied all the bios in one document, and it's at 13,000 words! I really don't know what else to say. I really didn't expect for this to happen, so a huge thanks again!**

EclipseClan:

Leader: Gorsewater—A gray tabby tom with darker stripes

Deputy: Icetail—A white tom with a gray tail-tip. Apprentice, Wolfpaw

Med Cat: Lunarstream—Silver-gray she-cat with darker paws. Apprentice, Frostpaw

Warriors:

Tornwhisker—Brown tabby tom with dark amber eyes. Apprentice, Leafpaw

Brightbelly—A pale golden tom with two grey spots, one on his flank and the other on his shoulder, and green eyes

Hailstripe—Tickled tabby she-cat with light and dark grey fur, a long tail, and dark green eyes

Cloudfeather—Large, mottled gray tabby tom with a long, feathery tail, pale yellow eyes

Lilymist—Soft-furred white she-cat with tortoiseshell patches and amber eyes

Feathermist—Long-furred large gray-and-white mottled tom with blue eyes. Apprentice, Rainpaw

Wheatclaw—Light ginger she-cat with amber eyes

Sheepheart—A fluffy white and pale gray she-cat with large paws and blue eyes. Apprentice, Beechpaw

Sharpeye—Sandy ginger tom with green eyes

Spiderfang—Short-furred dark gray tom with one yellow and one blue eye.

Blizzardstone—Dappled brown she-cat with light green eyes

(Closed)

Apprentices:

Beechpaw—Pale silver-and-white tabby tom with green eyes

Wolfpaw—Gray tabby tom with black facial markings and yellow eyes

Leafpaw—Mottled brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Rainpaw—Small spotted tabby she-cat with thick, light grey fur and darker markings, along with golden eyes.

Frostpaw—Tickled tabby she-cat with dark grey and black fur, a long tail, and dark green eyes

(Closed)

Queens:

Silverfall—Sliver-gray she-cat with white stripes (Mother of Tornwhisker's kits: Creekkit and Graykit)

Fallowcloud—A black and ginger tortoiseshell she-cat (Mother of Sharpeye's kits: Cowkit, Poppykit, and Cherrykit)

Kits:

Cowkit—Black tom with a white chest and muzzle

Poppykit—Tortoiseshell and ginger she-cat

Cherrykit—Dark ginger she-cat

Creekkit—Gray tabby she-cat with a lighter belly

Graykit—Solid gray tom with darker paws

Elders:

Bluefang—Blue-gray she-cat

Goldenfur—A dark golden tom with pale amber eyes and a plumy tail

Rogues/Loners/Kittypets:

Opal—Small, white she-cat with seal points and bright green eyes

Jadestone—Dark gray-black tabby she-cat with bright, pale green eyes

Ditcher—A small she-cat with dark green eyes and a cream sepia coat, with a darker tint to her face, ears, tail, and paws

Rosa— Large she-cat with lilac shaded fur, mint green eyes, and a long, incredibly fluffy tail

Jumanji—Large, black furred tomcat with a white dorsal stripe, copper eyes, and a long tail.

Teller—Old, frail brown tabby tomcat, with graying fur and a missing right ear.

Dancer (Frostdapple)—White she-cat with long, thick fur, with blue-gray dapples and pretty icy-colored eyes

Starclan:

Barkstar—Large light brown she-cat with amber eyes

Rabbitstar—Very light tan tom with darker paws, ears, tail, muzzle, and turquoise eyes.

Sunstar—White-and-ginger patched tom with leaf-green eyes

Braveclaw—Light gray she-cat with a white underbelly, muzzle, and blue eyes.

Vineslip—Silver-gray tabby she-cat with black stripes, a white tail-tip, chest, underbelly, and hindpaw, and pale yellow-amber eyes

Thornmask—Dark gray-brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Ashfall—Pale silver-gray she-cat with tabby markings and green eyes

Roseberry—Sleek, pale gray-brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Fogface—Small spotted tabby, with thick, dark grey and black fur and bright gold eyes

Stonekit—Tiny, dark gray tabby she-kit with blue eyes

Ashenstep—Pale gray tabby she-cat with darker paws and ears with dark blue eyes.

Dark Forest:

Blazingpelt—Bright ginger she-cat with a white muzzle, chest, and ice blue eyes

Crookedwhisper—Heavily scarred ginger tom with amber eyes

Ashfeather—A gray she-cat with long fur, large, sharp claws, and green eyes

 **Some changes have been made. Blizzardpaw, Guest from Chapter 1, is in the allegiances as a warrior due to you being the only guest to put the password in the reviews. Random Cat, I liked your OC, so she's in as a rogue! 1quintisfan, Einstorm, I'll be using your OCs as kits later on. Thank you very much! Please remind me if I've seemed to have forgotten any OCs!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1:**

The rain had finally stopped.

Poppykit was bouncing with excitement now that the storm had passed. Finally, they could go out and play! She'd been stuck in the bramble bush she and her mother had been staying in since going on their trip. Maybe she could go out with Cowkit and see what it was like outside of camp! They had just passed their sixth moon and were going to become apprentices any day now; certainly they'd be allowed outside camp today!

The ginger tortoiseshell she-cat fidgeted from paw to paw as Fallowcloud groomed Cowkit, her brother squeaking in protest every once in a while when she licked his fur in a way that made him colder. Cherrykit giggled at the scene plopping down next to her sister, fur groomed herself.

"I don't see why we have to be groomed before going out to the clan every day!" Cowkit finally exclaimed, looking very miserable. Fallowcloud pulled back for a moment, shooting him a knowing look.

"You know our clan is going through a hard time right now," their mother responded. "I will not have you make it seem any worse while running around with mud in your fur!"

Cowkit frowned, falling silent as he was reminded about what had happened so recently. Cherrykit quieted as well, while Poppykit simply shrugged. Who cared about leaving home? Sure, things were kind of uncomfortable now, but it wasn't like they'd be staying in these dumb plains forever! Her father, Sharpeye, had told her that they'd be finding an even better home than the one they had in the ravine soon enough, and she was very much inclined to believe him. After all, her father never lied to her! This was all a grand adventure, and one Poppykit hoped to experience even more once she became an apprentice.

"There!" Fallowcloud pulled back after a couple moments, and Cowkit scrambled away, the three littermates ready to go exploring camp. "You three stay together! And do not leave camp!"

"Mom!" Poppykit exclaimed while Cherrykit groaned. "Come on! We're practically apprentices now! Why can't we go?"

"Definitely not!" Fallowcloud snorted, looking stern. "We are in unfamiliar territory right now and Brightbelly's found a badger set just a little ways from here."

"B-badger?!" Cowkit exclaimed, looking afraid at the thought of danger. Poppykit rolled her eyes and nudged him.

"Stop being such a mouse," she teased. "No badger can attack the middle of camp. Now come on! I want to go and see the warriors at work!"

"Be careful," Fallowcloud reiterated. Poppykit nodded.

"Yeah, we get it," Cherrykit added. "Now let's go! We haven't been out since the storm started!"

Unwilling to wait any longer, Poppykit rushed out of the makeshift nursery, Cherrykit on her heels and Cowkit not far behind. Ducking under the curved branches, they skidded into the middle of camp. Their temporary resting spot was a deep dip in between two small rises in the ground. From what Poppykit had seen when they had come here, it was sparsely populated with trees and low-hanging bushes.

Even though it was already midmorning, the fresh-kill pile was still rather small. Poppykit frowned at it for a moment, her belly rumbling for food. But all there was only three rain-soaked mice and a soggy rabbit. Ew. She'd eat later.

Gorsewater, the clan's deputy/leader/whatever-he-was (he was their leader, but hadn't gotten his nine lives yet for some reason. Sharpeye said he was deputy until he received his lives, while Feathermist claimed that he was leader since Lightstar was dead) was sitting next to Icetail, his second-in-command. They were talking quietly, which piked Poppykit's curiousity as to what they were talking about, but she discarded the idea of eavesdropping after a moment of consideration. Fallowcloud would have their ears if they were caught.

"Look!" Cowkit squeaked. "The sunrise patrol is back!"

Poppykit rushed past her brother to meet them. Heading the patrol was Cloudfeather and his brother, Brightbelly. Following the two toms was Sheepheart and her young apprentice, Beechpaw. Spiderfang, bringing up the rear, was carrying a large rabbit in his jaws, but other than that, they had brought back no prey.

"Spiderfang!" Cherrykit squealed, bounding forwards. Poppykit laughed, bouncing right along her heels. The newly-made warrior was practically a brother to them, and had visited the nursery almost as much as his former mentor, Sharpeye. The dark gray warrior's dual-colored eyes lit up and the sight of the kits, but he didn't drop his prey, instead flicking an ear in greeting.

"Spiderfang! How was the sunrise patrol? Did you find anything?" Poppykit exclaimed, bouncing along her 'brother's' side while he dropped his prey into the fresh-kill pile. "What's it like out there? Did you fight that badger Fallowcloud found? Did you shred it into pieces?"

"You fought a badger?!" Cowkit exclaimed, suddenly looking very frightened. He looked over at the rest of the patrol as if he expected them to fall over dead at any moment for some reason.

"What? Where did you get that idea?" Spiderfang asked, tilting his head. Poppykit shrugged.

"Fallowcloud said there was a badger set nearby. So I thought you would go and fight it off."

"Oh, I hope Gorsewater doesn't ask us to do that," Sheepheart flicked her ears as she walked up to the kits. "Hopefully we'll be long gone before that animal is a major threat to us. Speaking of, do you know when we're leaving, Spiderfang? You always seem to know these sort of things."

"No, I don't," the young warrior responded with a shake of his head. "And I don't think Gorsewater knows yet, either. I think he's waiting for a sign from StarClan."

"What do we need StarClan for?" Cherrykit asked. "Why can't we just find a place to go ourselves?"

Spiderfang and Sheepheart shared a long look, both of their expressions shifting, before Spiderfang grunted and stepped aside, letting the long-haired she-cat explain.

"Because we need to make sure we're going to the right place, silly," she explained. "After all, we certainly can't settle anywhere near here. There are hardly any trees to climb and it was a miracle Spiderfang was able to run fast enough to catch that rabbit you saw earlier. We need to make sure that we won't end up anywhere worse."

"But you can't really go anywhere worse than this!" Cherrykit exclaimed. "It's so windy and… and open!"

"You would be surprised," Spiderfang drawled, stepping forwards. "StarClan guides us; without them we would be lost and wouldn't be a true clan. Lunarstream and Frostpaw will figure out a way to aide us, that is for certain."

Cherrykit looked like she wanted to speak further, but Cowkit beat her to it, as he was beginning to look uncomfortable.

"When are we going to become apprentices?" The black-and-white tom questioned, quickly changing the subject. "I mean, we passed our sixth moon two days ago, but Gorsewater hasn't said anything about giving us warriors yet."

"Why do you kits always ask the hardest questions?" Spiderfang muttered under his breath, so quietly that Poppykit barely heard it. Louder, he answered her brother. "Gorsewater doesn't have the authority yet. We need to wait until he has his nine lives until he can apprentice you. And since we haven't heard anything from Starclan, that means that we have to wait for you to be apprenticed."

"But that's not fair!" Poppykit exclaimed. "It's not our fault that the Twolegs came, or that Lightstar died, or that Gorsewater can't become leader!"

"Life isn't fair, I'm afraid," Spiderfang replied softly. He looked up, and Poppykit followed his gaze to see Icetail and Blizzardstone, Wolfpaw at their side, beckoning to him. "I'm needed for a hunting patrol now. Sorry, but I have to go."

"What? No!" Poppykit exclaimed. Almost immediately, Cherrykit and Cowkit were at her sides, all three of them not wanting their friend to leave. "You just got back!"

"Oh, that's so cute," Sheepheart purred. "But I'm afraid we're all going to be busy. Trying to feed EclipseClan in this habitat is going to be an enormous job all on its own. Patrols are going to be out almost all day, I'm afraid."

Poppykit huffed as the two warriors bounded away to meet Icetail. This wasn't fair!

Why wouldn't StarClan just talk to them already and tell the clan where to go? And give Gorsewater his lives while they were at it?

* * *

 _Poppykit blinked as a new world took shape around her. The young tortoiseshell she-cat stood up, confused. Where was she? Last she remembered, she had gone to bed after a long day of watching patrols entering and exiting camp. She had gone to sleep with her family as usual, between Cherrykit and Cowkit._

 _So where was she?_

 _It seemed like she was in a cave system of some kind. She hadn't ever been in the bigger ones that EclipseClan had on their old territory, but she had been in the ones they had used for dens, and this looked a lot like it. The stone above her gave off a silvery glow, lighting the tunnel dimly. Usually, Poppykit would have felt afraid, but for some odd reason, she wasn't here._

 _Deciding to explore, the ginger tortoiseshell bounded down the dimly lit tunnel, wanting to see if she could find someone. Scents flooded her nose, but they were all very old musks that she couldn't place. One scent was nutty and earthy, while a second smelled like fish. A third smelled like grass, and a fourth like the stinky mud Wolfpaw had tracked into camp after falling into a stream. The scents were much too tangled for Poppykit to try and follow, however, and so she continued on blindly._

" _Hello?" She called. "Is anyone there?!"_

" _Hello~," her echo replied. Other than that, there was nothing._

 _She walked for a little while longer, before reaching a fork in the tunnel. Poppykit stepped to the mouth of the fork, unsure of which path to take. After a moment, she decided to turn right, where the scents were thicker and it was more likely that she would find someone. She really needed to figure out how to get home. How else would she become an apprentice?!_

 _Then, there was a new scent, one much stronger than the traces she had been picking up for StarClan knew how long. It was sweet and tangy at the same time, and with a bitter tang, like the herbs Lunarstream gave her once when she had come down with whitecough. Poppykit's ears perked up, and she burst into a run to try and find the source._

" _Hello?_ " _She cried. "Who's there? I'm lost!"_

 _She turned a corner and slammed into a larger mass. Bouncing backwards, Poppykit squeaked, rubbing her now sore muzzle._

" _Oh, uh, sorry," she found herself apologising after a moment. She looked up to find herself face-to-face with a pretty young she-cat, with dark tortoiseshell fur, and wide amber eyes. "Who are you?"_

 _There was a moment of silence, as the tortoiseshell simply stared at her in shock. Poppykit blinked, wondering what she had said wrong. She had apologised, just like Fallowcloud had taught her! Was she somehow offended by that?_

 _Then, finally, the she-cat spoke._

" _My name is Spottedleaf," she murmured. "And how did you get here?"_

* * *

 **Reviews:**

 **Sunny the Sky Warrior** —Yes, Stonekit is possessed, but by what will not be revealed for some time. Thank you so much for your review!

 **AnonChan1** —Yes, EclipseClan's code does differ in some places (if you look closely in this chapter, the patrol Spiderfang and Sheepheart were on was called the _Sunrise_ patrol, not the _Dawn_ patrol, but that's a small thing), which will be revealed later (when I decide them XD). Stonekit's… episode… was the first she has experienced. As for Gorsewater and EclipseClan, well, they're in for one heck of a ride.

 **Celtic Silver** —Yes, Stonekit is possessed, yes, it is not Blazingpelt, and no, it isn't Crookedwhisper. I am particularly proud of that second line you quoted, haha. And it's a relief to know that I'm writing Vineslip and Stonekit well. Especially Vineslip. She is a _lot_ harder to figure out than I thought she was. It's been fun. She'll have a greater role later in the story (filing away the flashback idea for later use), so let me know if I ever interpret one of your OCs incorrectly.

 **KazumioKazaki** —Thanks for the scenery complement! I worked hard on that part, it's good to know that it's appreciated. Starclan's next chapter will be either the next chapter or the one after (could I get some input on that? Gorsewater for Chapter 2 or Ashenstep?) and Stonekit _is_ possessed, but she is definitely not aware of it. She's a good cat, through and through. Vineslip is a warrior and Stonekit's littermate (Stonekit died as a kit while Vineslip lived to adulthood). They have a sister, Roseberry, and two parents, Thornmask and Ashfall. Vineslip and Roseberry died around 8 moons before the story began.

 **So… yeah. See you around! #:-)**


	5. Heresy

**I made the deadline! By a half hour! Ug, I had this chapter all written out on Wednesday, but nothing was happening and I didn't want to bore you guys, so I rewrote the last half of it. I hope you like it, because I am dead.**

 **In other news, I have completed a rough draft of the timeline of EclipseClan, leading up to the first Prologue, as well as their modified warrior code. Combining the backstories of so many cats was** _ **difficult**_ **, let me tell you.**

 **I won't be posting the timeline (spoliers!) but I'll put up the warrior code:**

 **The EclipseClan Code:**

Defend your Clan, even with your life. You may have friendships with cats outside the Clan, but your loyalty must remain to your Clan, as one day you may meet them in battle.

The leader of the Clan and the medicine cat are equal in power. The leader will have control of the secular matters of the clan, while the medicine cat will tend to the spiritual.

Elders, queens, and kits must be fed before apprentices and warriors. Unless they have permission, apprentices may not eat until they have hunted to feed the elders. If any warrior or apprentice is sick or injured, they may eat while the elders, queens, and kits are eating.

Prey is killed only to be eaten. Give thanks to StarClan for its life.

A kit must be at least six moons old to become an apprentice.

Newly appointed warriors will keep a silent vigil for one night after receiving their warrior name.

A cat cannot be made deputy without having mentored at least one apprentice. Warriors must have been warriors for at least three moons before taking an apprentice.

The deputy will become Clan leader when the leader dies, retires or is exiled.

After the death or retirement of the deputy, the new deputy must be chosen before moonhigh.

Boundaries must be checked and marked daily. Challenge all trespassing cats.

No warrior can neglect a kit in pain or danger, even if the kit is not from the Clan.

The united word of the leader, medicine cat, and deputy is law

An honorable warrior does not need to kill other cats to win their battles, unless they are outside the warrior code or if it is necessary for self-defense.

A warrior respects all walks of life a cat may choose. Clan life may be one of the better options, but all choices a cat makes must be honored.

A leader, deputy, or medicine cat may dismissed from their office if the other two cats agree it is needed, and substantial evidence and support from StarClan is provided.

* * *

 **Chapter 2:**

"Gorsewater, the Sunrise patrol has returned!"

Gorsewater looked up from his meal as he heard Icetail's call, turning to see Cloudfeather leading back said patrol, followed by his mate, Lilymist, one of their kits, Leafpaw, and her mentor, Sheepheart. Leafpaw was proudly carrying a mouse in her jaws, while Cloudfeather boasted a shrew. It was a meager picking, but a very good haul compared to the last couple days of living on the moor.

Gorsewater stood up, pushing aside the remains of the mouse he'd been eating to meet them, Icetail coming up at his side. Cloudfeather dropped the mouse on the fresh-kill pile and turned to report what he had found while on patrol.

"Anything new?" the gray tabby asked. Cloudfeather nodded.

"Yes," he announced. "Like you said, Icetail, the badger Brightbelly found seems to not be too interested in us. Sheepheart got close to it and confirmed that it is very young; it most likely left it's mother less than a moon ago. No doubt it doesn't know what we are and doesn't think of us as prey."

"And beyond?" Icetail prompted.

"There is a river towards the rising sun," the mottled gray warrior responded. "The plains continued on for as far as we could see to the north. Amd there is a forest to the west. And of course, we know what is south of us. Have we heard anything from StarClan yet? Leafpaw is starting to get worried."

"No, not yet," Gorsewater spoke up, shaking his head. "But no doubt the sign will come soon. They will not leave us to fend for ourselves."

"If that is what you believe," Cloudfeather replied. Though polite, his voice held thinly veiled skepticism. Gorsewater looked away from the warrior's golden eyes.

"Thank you for your findings." Icetail dipped his head in gratitude, tail flicking uncomfortably. "Could you, by chance, take Wolfpaw for the day again? Gorsewater and I need to decide where to go." He looked up at the midmorning sun. "We'll most likely get going a little past sunhigh, so don't go out to far."

Cloudfeather's ears perked up just slightly when he realised he'd be spending the rest of the morning with his son, but he didn't comment on , instead nodding and padding away. He called out to his son, and the gray-and-black apprentice bounded out of his makeshift den, eager to start the day.

"Where _do_ you think we should go, Gorsewater?"

The gray tabby blinked and turned to his old mentor. He thought for a moment. Cloudfeather had said that the plains had continued to the north for as far as he could see, and considering how little prey they were catching now, that direction was ruled out. There was no way EclipseClan could survive on so little prey for such an extended period of time. That left the river and the forest. On one paw, the forest would provided accurate shelter and food, while the river would give them a straight direction to travel.

"I don't know," he finally sighed, kneading his paws into the ground. "Definitely not north, but going both east and west seem to be pretty good options. What do you think?"

"I am leaning towards the forest," Icetail responded. "But I'm not certain; it could contain foxes or badgers. You remember what happened last time the clan came into direct contact with one of our predators."

Gorsewater suppressed a shiver. It was hard to forget. It had been eight moons ago, and Wolfpaw, then a kit, had nearly died, while Vineslip, one of their best warriors, had. She had practically killed it on her own, but then again, the detached warrior had always been exceptional.

"Yes," he finally replied, drawing himself out of his thoughts. "I do. Speaking of, should we put a warrior on guard near the badger set, to make sure that it doesn't get any bright ideas? I know it's young, but even a young badger is dangerous."

Icetail smiled briefly at him in approval, and Gorsewater mentally cheered. For once he wasn't completely relying on his deputy to run camp.

"Blizzardstone!" The white tom called out, and a mottled brown she-cat looked up from her position next to her brother, Spiderfang. "Could you go out and keep an eye on that badger set nearby? We don't want our sneaking up on us."

"Yes, sir!" The young warrior nodded, standing up. She murmured a farewell to Spiderfang and padded off the the exit of camp.

"I'm going to talk to Lunarstream," Gorsewater murmured after a moment, turning to the fallen tree trunk that the medicine cat and her apprentice has claimed when they had arrived. "She deserves to have a say in this as well."

"Good idea," Icetail agreed. "She may not have heard from StarClan yet, but perhaps she will be able to help us decide which path to take."

Lunarstream was inside the hollow tree trunk, sorting through the meager herb supplies they had managed to find after fleeing the ravine. Currently, she was sorting some of the herbs into bundles, though Gorsewater wasn't sure why. She looked up as the "leader" and "deputy" entered, dropping a green plant with dozens of small leaves. Frostpaw was near the back of the trunk, cleaning their nests.

"Gorsewater, Icetail," she greeted distractedly, hurriedly picking up her dropped plant. "What do you need? I'm trying to get the traveling herbs together for when we leave. Oh, that reminds me. Frostpaw!"

"Yes?" the tickled tabby looked up from where she was rolling the dirty moss from their nests into balls.

"When you go to throw away that moss, go looking for some Chamomile and Daisy leaves? We're all out."

"Yes, I will," Frostpaw responded, dipping her head.

"Lunarstream," Gorsewater began, a bit awkwardly. "I know you're busy, but I was hoping to get an opinion from you. We're trying to decide which direction to take next. There's a forest to the west and a river to the east. What do you think?"

Lunarstream looked up, then sighed, setting down the herbs she had been sorting. She paused for a moment, thinking.

"I don't know…" she finally sighed, shaking her head. Frostpaw bundled up the dirty moss and whisked out of the temporary medicine den as her mentor spoke. "StarClan has been utterly silent, as are my dreams. I have little jurisdiction in this matter without them, but… the forest, perhaps?"

Gorsewater nodded to himself. The forest it was, then. He looked closely at Lunarstream after a moment, however, noting that her silver-gray fur was sticking up in several directions, and she seemed exhausted. No doubt she had been pushed to the limits, with everyone in the clan trying to get a sign out of her. From what he had seen, Frostpaw, despite only being an apprentice for three moons, had taken over finding all of the herbs in an unfamiliar environment while Lunarstream attempted to control the situation in camp.

"We'll take the forest, then; Icetail and I were leaning there as well," he announced. The gray tabby paused for a moment, then continued. "Are you alright? You look exhausted, Lunarstream."

The medicine cat gave him a grateful look. The two were rather good friends; Embercloud, Gorsewater's deceased mate, had been her sister.

"Thank you, Gorsewater, but I'm just tired," she murmured. "Where _is_ StarClan? You would think that in a time like this, that they would be close to us, but… they aren't. I've yet to even feel their presence in my dreams."

Icetail and Gorsewater shared an uneasy look. Certainly they'd known their medicine cat's position before, but hearing it now, when they needed it so badly, just seemed to make everything feel worse, even if they had a plan beginning to form. StarClan was a huge part of EclipseClan's lives. Every apprentice aspiring to become a warrior had met with them in the Shining Hollow to be evaluated. They gave the leader their nine lives, and gave prophecies when the clan was in danger. Yet when the Twolegs had come—no, when Lightstar, a leader who had no qualifications for the job, had come—they had supported him. They had sent a _sign_ to Lunarstream that had prompted her to make the tom leader, yet he had nothing nothing good for the clan.

"EclipseClan is still holding onto the hope that StarClan is going to send us a sign," Icetail disclosed, sheathing and unsheathing his claws in worry, his tail flicking from side to side as he did so. "I fear that if we don't hear something soon, we'll have worse problems than not knowing where to go come up."

The trio fell into silence again. Lunarstream tilted her head up to the sky, looking like she was sending a silent prayer to their ancestors to aid them. Icetail looked uncomfortable and worried, the emotions he never showed to the clan flickering in his eyes as he sat next to his old apprentice and friend. Gorsewater himself sat almost awkwardly, feeling out of place in between the senior warrior (who very much should have been leader in his stead) and medicine cat.

Then, Cloudfeather's skeptical face flickered in his head, and he blinked as a memory came back to the forefront of his mind…

" _I don't get it, though. What makes StarClan so special, anyways?"_

 _Gorsepaw paused from his position in the nursery, paw hovering over some soiled moss as he looked to see who had spoken. It was Cloudkit, perhaps a little under two moons old, looking up at his mother, Lilyfur, curiously._

 _The black-and-white she-cat was looking at her son in surprise. Ferretkit and Hailkit giggled together from their place at their mother's side._

" _Of course StarClan exists, silly!" the silver she-kit announced, while Ferretkit nodded, agreeing. "Or Ashfeather wouldn't ever receive signs from StarClan."_

" _But that doesn't prove anything!" Cloudkit protested, looking flustered. "Can't—can't she just fake it? So it just_ seems _like she gets signs?"_

Gorsewater blinked, drawing himself back to the present. That was it… EclipseClan needed a sign from StarClan to feel safe. And if StarClan wouldn't provide the sign, then…

"We'll make a sign, then," he announced. Icetail and Lunarmoon looked at him in surprise.

"Come again?" Icetail asked, looking a little disturbed. Gorsewater took a deep breath, and moved to explain.

"Look, I think we all know that EclipseClan needs a sign from StarClan to help unify us. Already Wheatclaw and Spiderfang are doubting, and Cloudfeather has not approved of me leading instead of Icetail." He waved his tail at his old mentor as the tom moved to protest. "Don't argue; I hold no complaints about how he is thinking. I'd do the same, honestly, if our positions were switched. Anyways, StarClan obviously isn't going to give us a sign. So we'll need to fake one. One saying that we need to go to the forest. That way we unify the clan into thinking that our ancestors are guiding us, and we buy time until the actual StarClan contacts us."

Icetail and Lunarmoon said nothing, simply looking at him in a mixture of shock and anger. It was the silver she-cat who recovered first.

"We can't do that!" She exclaimed. "That goes against everything we've been taught as clan cats! Not to mention that we're betraying the trust of our clanmates while we're at it."

"What other idea do you have, then?" Gorsewater shuffled his feet uncomfortably as he replied softly. "Please. If you do, we'll listen and put your plan to work. But if you don't, what do you want us to do? Sit back until all the warriors are revolting, thinking that StarClan has abandoned us?"

Lunarmoon said nothing, simply staring at him in disbelief.

"He has a point, Lunarmoon," Icetail sighed heavily. "We should have thought of it earlier, actually. As much as I loathe to admit it, it is possible that StarClan has abandoned us or is unable to communicate with us after the destruction of the Shining Hollow. Please, you must consider this. What else can we do?"

"Icetail, you can't—" Lunarmoon looked desperate now, her jade green eyes moving to the senior warrior. Gorsewater felt his heart tear in two. Lunarmoon was working so hard, and now they were practically asking her to abandon her hope that StarClan would help them. It was practically all she had left.

"I'm sorry," he finally murmured, feeling at a loss for words. The medicine cat paused for a moment, then flattened her ears.

"Fine!" She spat in an uncharacteristic burst of anger. "I'll go along with this heresy! But only because I'm outnumbered."

"Thank you so much," Icetail responded. Lunarmoon whipped around and turned back to her herbs.

"Let me know when you have that sign ready," she hissed, tearing apart the leafy herbs she's been working with earlier in her paws. "But until then, get out of my den."

* * *

 **And the medicine cat has been alienated from the deputy and leader. Difficult decisions lie ahead of you, Gorsewater…**

 **Reviews:**

 **Celtic Silver—** I think we can call both of you middle-schoolers,. Let's meet in the middle XD. Cloudfeather actually has three siblings, as revealed in this chapter, though Ferretheart is kinda dead. As for Cowkit, he tends to be scared of a lot of things, badgers included. But yes, Vineslip's story is something that scares him, though Poppykit and Cherrykit view her story as cool. The tunnels have very little to do with the lake, actually, and Poppykit ran into Spottedleaf for a reason, though it isn't one I think I'll disclose just yet. The state of EclipseClan's StarClan is going to be in the next chapter, and I hope Cloudfeather has been written well in this one. By the way, please write that story.

 **AnonChan1—** What do you mean I forgot your cats? I don't know what you're talking about… *Hurriedly updates Chapter 1.* Nice Brightheart reference, by the way. I felt bad for laughing. As for StarClan, well, Gorsewater and the others can't wait any longer, so here's to hoping that this doesn't blow up even more in their faces. "The Prophetic Dream of all Vaguely-Prophetic Cats." Trademark that before I steal it. As for Spottedleaf, I'm stealing Celtic Silver's quote and saying all roads lead to her.

 **Sunny the Sky Warrior—** Don't worry, Poppykit isn't dead. Just dreaming. I was going to put her in this chapter for you, but never got the opportunity. My muse took me somewhere else.

 **Kazumiokazaki—** Typed your name from memory today, and I feel quite accomplished XD. It's not been mentioned yet, but Gorsewater is Sharpeye's brother as well. Yay for me writing Spiderfang good as well. As for grammar, I haven't beta'd this one as much as usual, so just let me know if any mistakes have slipped through.

 **Please let me know if you have any ideas for the story! I need them!**

 **So… yeah.**

 ***Dies***


	6. Whisper

**Life sucks. I finally had a chance to sit down and write this last week, and then I couldn't think of** _ **what**_ **to write. I'm still not completely satisfied with this chapter and it's shorter than usual, but it'll have to do. It's not edited as much as I'd like, either, but hopefully you guys can tolerate my mistakes.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3:**

Ashenstep and Embercloud squeezed through the throng of StarClan cats, trying to get to the center of the group. It seemed the entirety of StarClan—actually, it _was_ all of StarClan—had gathered for this occasion. There was a certain chill in the air, originating not from the weather, but in the worried glances the cats were shooting at each other. Quiet whispers passed from ear to ear, no one seeming to want to raise their voice any higher.

The leaders of EclipseClan's StarClan had called this gathering of sorts in the chaos following the loss of communication with their living counterparts. Only several days had passed since Vineslip had announced that she couldn't share dreams with Opal, and StarClan had been in an uproar ever since. Multiple cats had tried contacting Lunarstream or Gorsewater, but it had all been to no avail.

"There they are!" Embercloud announced, looking back at her daughter and tilting her head towards the two cats they were looking for. Vineslip sitting underneath a particularly larger tree, her sister Roseberry at her side. Stonekit, and Ashenstep's younger sister, Fawnkit, were play-wrestling on the ground. But even they were subdued by the despondent atmosphere, which seemed to make it even more real.

"Vineslip! Roseberry!" The mottled white-and-gray queen called, her voice just slightly lower than a normal tone. Vineslip turned away from her conversation with Roseberry, her ears perking up at seeing the two she-cats.

"Embercloud!" Roseberry purred, the gray-brown she-cat, bounding forwards to touch noses with Ashenstep's mother. The two had been good friends, Embercloud having been the younger warrior's mentor back when they were alive. Their close relationship had carried on into the afterlife. "I haven't seen you for a couple days; I was starting to get worried. You've heard the news, haven't you?"

"Of course," Embercloud nodded, ears flattening a bit as she snuck a furtive glance at Vineslip. "This is really worrying. What are our living clanmates going to do without us to guide them?"

Vineslip shrugged, her claws flexing in and out of the soft dirt.

"Someone has caused a disturbance between StarClan and EclipseClan," she hissed, a sort of silent anger rolling off of her abruptly. "And I don't like it. It cannot be a coincidence that we've lost contact with out clanmates when they need us most."

Roseberry flicked her tail across her sister's flank. "Opal will be fine without you for a couple days, sister," she murmured, eyes flicking around nervously at the other cats around them. Ashenstep spared a quick glance as well, noting with relief that no one had seemed to notice Vineslip's brief, well, _slip_. The sliver-gray she-cat wasn't the most popular in StarClan, and had to tread carefully when around others.

Vineslip seemed to notice the heightened tension, and relaxed slightly, letting her anger dissipate. "Sorry," she apologised. "I've been getting better. But I worry."

"It's not a problem," Embercloud shook her head. "We all make mistakes. Speaking of, you think a cat is causing this disturbance?"

Ashenstep shifted her feet, feeling uncomfortable. The others didn't seem to take notice.

"Well," Vineslip answered noncommittally. "I don't think this is a coincidence. Whether this some strange phenomenon or a cat with unprecedented power greater than StarClan's, I don't know. We all know that the Shining Hollow wasn't our sole connection with the EclipseClan—we were able to send that prophecy to Lunarstream shortly after, anyways—not to mention that I visited Opal several times as well."

"You have a point," Embercloud agreed. "This isn't what's supposed to happen. It didn't last time." The three other cats looked to her in confusion, and the mottled queen blinked. "Don't you remember? When the four clans left their home in the forest and travelled to the lake, StarClan was able to follow them and stay in communication with them quite easily. Yet that isn't the case with EclipseClan."

"Something is different, then," Vineslip agreed. Roseberry's tail twitched.

"But who has the power to do such a thing?" she asked worriedly.

 _The thing that possessed Stonekit, perhaps?_ Ashenstep answered silently. But she said nothing. How exactly was she supposed to go about talking about what was happening to her? Part of her just wanted to spill everything to her mother and friends, but the other half desperately needed to keep everything a secret.

Was she insane? That would explain the voices. But could she be insane as a StarClan cat?

"Cats of StarClan!"

The four she-cats looked up, stopping their conversation as one voice rose above that of the crowd (not that it was difficult). Perhaps three or four fox-lengths away, on a rather large rock that they used for gatherings like this, perched a large brown she-cat with copper eyes. On her right side was a cream tom with darker paws, ears, and muzzle, and on her left a blue-gray she-cat. Ashenstep turned around slightly so she could get a better look at the leaders of StarClan.

"We are here to discuss a very worrying problem that has come up in the past couple days," the brown she-cat, the former leader Barkstar, announced, her voice loud and deep so that it carried over the crowd. "We, StarClan, have officially lost contact with our clanmates in the ravine."

A heavy silence fell over the crowd of cats. Hearing one of their own leaders say it seemed to make the problem even more real.

"As you know, EclipseClan has entered one of their most dire hours," Barkstar continued. "And we have to help them find a new home. But we cannot aid them or fix this problem unless we all work together and gather information. We don't have much time, however, and we must hurry. Rabbitstar," she flicked her tail over to the cream tom. "Will be leading an expedition to SkyClan's StarClan. Mintdapple—" she gestured to the blue-gray she-cat, Rabbitstar's mate and a former medicine cat. "Will be leading one to the Four Clans. And Braveclaw—" she nodded down to a gray-and-white she-cat near the base of the rock. "Will be travelling to the Tribe of Endless Hunting. Each patrol are going to ask if our counterparts can reach their living clanmates, and if any anomalies have been occuring. If you want to join a patrol, talk to one of their leaders."

"Ashfall will most likely join one of these expeditions. And Thornmask will follow wherever she goes," Roseberry murmured in referral to her parents, her tail flickering. Ashenstep nodded to herself. The three versions of StarClan for the six clans, as well as the Tribe of Endless Hunting, were several days' travel apart, making communication between them scarce and far between.

Barkstar went on for a while longer, talking about how is was crucial for them not to panic and that they all needed to stay alert, but Ashenstep found her attention drifting away after the announcement to find the other clans.

" _Kill…"_

The whisper was quiet, so quiet that Ashenstep almost missed it. It was the voice of a grown tom, yet higher-pitched than the one she had heard come from Stonekit several days ago. It rasped through the air like a leaf on the wind. The gray tabby she-cat looked around for a moment, noting that no one else could hear the voice. That was to be expected. She'd been hearing it ever since she'd died, and no one had ever heard it expect for her. Sometimes it was loud, sometimes soft, but it was always the same.

" _Kill them all…"_

Her gut was pulling her away, and she knew she had to follow it. The voice always came from the same spot—how she could hear it from so far away she didn't know—and she knew she had to get to said spot. Now.

She stood up, even as Mintdapple began speaking. Embercloud looked over at her daughter in confusion, but Ashenstep simply flicked her tail and ears in a way that signalled that she'd explain later (when she would have come up with an excuse). Then, she padded silently through the crowd of cats, ignoring the odd looks she was getting as she did so. Despite the fear and urge to run erupting in her belly, she managed to keep a straight face.

" _The time has come."_

There wasn't any time! She increased her pace, and once she had left the crowd, burst into a dead sprint, her feet skimming the ground as she raced to the source of the voice. The cool, almost leaf-fall air seared her lungs, but being dead did have its benefits in that she didn't necessarily need to stop to catch her breath.

Fifteen minutes and several more whispered threats later, she burst out of the forest, skidding to a halt at the border in between StarClan and the Dark Forest, a place she had now visited dozens of times before. There was a pungent scent of crowfood in the air, but it faded once she arrived.

Ashenstep paused and looked around, letting herself catch her breath. Nothing. Just like the other times she had rushed here when the whispers had started. Fox-dung. She was hoping to have caught some sort of clue as to the owner of the mysterious voice.

"Ashenstep?"

The gray tabby blinked in surprise, turning around and away from the Dark Forest in a flash to see Vineslip emerge from the trees behind her. Ashenstep's insides froze. Had she been so panicked, so caught up in the whispers that she hadn't noticed the elder StarClan warrior following her?

"Ashenstep, why did you leave?" Vineslip asked, tilting her head in worry. Ashenstep shuffled her feet, not want to answer. "And why in the Ancient's name did you come here? I always seem to find you sneaking off to this place."

She wouldn't be able to lie. Vineslip was very good at being able to tell whether she was being told the truth or not.

 _Please don't think I'm crazy._

"Well, it's a long story. I—"

There was a snapping of a twig behind her, and the two she-cats froze. Vineslip, the one facing the Dark Forest, looked over her friend's shoulder, and gasped in surprise. It only took a split second, however, for that first expression to shift, her ears flattening as she let out a threatening growl. Alarmed, Ashenstep whipped around to see who had approached them from The Place of No Stars.

A tom had stepped up to the border between the two forests. He had light ginger fur, which became white at his belly. His pelt was disturbed with one or two scars, but a pair of bright blue eyes actually gave him a slightly handsome look.

A curl of terrifying fear blossomed in her belly, combated almost immediately by a fury so great she could barely contain it and a much smaller twinge of relief.

Vineslip spat the tom's name menacingly.

"What is a mangy piece of crow-food like you doing out here, Lightstar?"

* * *

 **So now Roseberry, Embercloud, and Lightstar have been introduced, and Vineslip has been expanded upon. And Ashenstep is experiencing something quite peculiar… what exactly is going on in StarClan? Have the other sections of the afterlife experienced this disturbance? Will EclipseClan survive without their ancestors to guide them?**

 **Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z!**

 **Oh, none of you guys probably got that reference… that show was my childhood, honestly. And now I'm rambling. Here are these reviews (only two? :( XD) :**

 **AnonChan1—** I'm glad you liked the code! I honestly decided to add in what I thought it should have since I had the opportunity haha. Yeah, personally I'd choose the river as well, but the Forest is more familiar territory and has plot devices. As for StarClan and EclipseClan, they're both more connected than they think…

 **Celtic Silver** —I'm glad you liked Cloudfeather; I think I'm going to have fun with him. And I hope you thought I wrote Vineslip and Roseberry well, they're a bit difficult (but very fun) to write. I stole the voting idea for the code from a YouTuber named LZRD WZRD (Cool guy btw, watch him if you don't), and simplified it a bit. I'm glad you found rationality in both Lunarstream and Gorsewater's points of view as well; I'm trying to make this a realistic as possible.

 **So hopefully, I can get the next chapter out soon. I'll try to get it out on schedule, but work is hectic right now so I can't make any promises. Also, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has entrapped me (Especially Thor: Ragnarok. Really recommend it!). And all the plot bunnies that come with it XD. Too bad I can't write them, I already have enough work with this and my original projects.**

 **So… yeah. May all roads lead to Spottedleaf (That's my ending motto now. What have you done to me, Celtic?!).**


	7. Puppetmaster

**Life sucks. I finally sat down two weeks ago to write this, and my computer crashed. Ughhhhhhhhhhh~**

 **Anyways, this is a shorter chapter, less because I couldn't write and more because there wasn't much** _ **to**_ **write.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4:**

Poppykit awoke to a commotion outside the nursery. She blinked tiredly, the last wisps of her dream and Spottedleaf's voice fading away. Next to her, Cowkit shifted, muttering something about wanting to sleep before going still. The ginger tortoiseshell stood up and stretched, noting that Fallowcloud and Cherrykit were already gone, leaving their shared next rather cold and drafty. Silverfall, the other queen, was absent as well, though her two kits, Creekkit and Graykit, were curled together, still asleep.

Where were her sister and mother? Usually she woke up before her mother, and with all of the travelling they had been going through, Poppykit would have thought that her mother would've wanted to sleep as much as possible.

The commotion outside, a set of blurred voices whose words she couldn't make out drew her attention again. Through the branches of the bush that they had settled in for the night, she could just see the first rays of dawn streaking across the sky. In the center of the makeshift camp EclipseClan had set up, most of the warriors seemed to have gathered, talking to each other in low, awed voices.

 _What's going on? And this early in the morning?_

Making sure not to step on Cowkit's tail, Poppykit ducked under the low-hanging branches of the bush and into the clearing, too curious not to stay in the warmth of the nursery any longer. The early new-leaf air tore into her medium-length fur, and the young she-cat fluffed out her it out in response with a shiver.

 _Ugh, why is everyone up so early?! Sleep is nice, have you heard of it?_

Still, the warriors of the clan were conversing, and she wanted to find out just what they were talking about. It'd been a while since there had had been news important enough to wake up the clan like this, and Poppykit wanted to know just what it was. Padding up to the group, she spotted Wolfpaw and Beechpaw sitting together near the edge of the group, talking excitedly.

"Beechpaw! Wolfpaw!" She called, hurrying to the apprentices' sides. "What's going on? Why is everyone talking together like this?"

The two apprentices turned towards her. Beechpaw simply gave her a welcoming nod, while Wolfpaw flashed her an excited smile.

"StarClan has spoken, Poppykit!" he exclaimed. "Rainpaw heard from Frostpaw that Lunarstream had a dream about where the clan should go!"

Poppykit gasped. So far, EclipseClan had been wandering without a clear destination in mind. A couple days ago, they'd finally left their temporary camp on the plains, and had just entered the forest yesterday. Gorsewater had declared that the clan should stay a couple days and recover, since there'd hardly been any food on the plains. Sharpeye had told her that there were several owls nested in the area as well, which had lead the clan to some good food sources while hunting. It'd been nice to have a full meal for once.

"What was it about?!" Poppykit demanded.

"Rainpaw wasn't very specific," Wolfpaw responded. "She was saying something about going north? And that StarClan was with us. Either way, it's very exciting."

"Very," Beechpaw agreed quietly. "But vague."

"Of _course_ it's vague, mouse-brain," Wolfpaw chuckled, giving the silver-white tabby a playful shove. "Icetail says that if StarClan told us exactly what to do all the time, we couldn't make our own decisions in this trial. Then we wouldn't learn anything."

Poppykit tilted her head, confused.

"But wouldn't having direct and specific instructions make sure we don't make mistakes or get hurt?" she asked. "Whenever Fallowcloud tells me to do something, she's awfully specific because she doesn't want me to disobey her."

Wolfpaw shrugged. "Don't ask me! Ask Icetail. That's what he says."

They fell into silence for a moment, before Poppykit spoke again.

"When do you think I'll become an apprentice? I turned six moons old a couple days ago, but Fallowcloud hasn't said anything about when my ceremony is going to be yet."

Wolfpaw shifted suddenly as his happy expression faded, sending an uncomfortable look to Beechpaw. The latter apprentice only shook his head, his expression a mixture of amusement and resignation.

"What?" Poppykit asked, her eyes flickering in between the two toms. A stab of fear shot its way through her belly. "Is something wrong? Am I not going to become an apprentice!?"

"Well… I don't think we can really answer that question for you," Beechpaw hurried to reassure her. "Just… don't be surprised if you're delayed in your training, or if you'll have to wait until we find a new home to become an apprentice."

"Why?"

"Think a little bit about our situation, Poppykit." It was Wolfpaw who spoke this time. "The clan is stretched thin just trying to provide for everyone. I haven't actually gone to a training session since the Twolegs drove us off, and half the time Icetail is passing me off to Cloudfeather because he can't even mentor me; he's too busy trying to help out Gorsewater."

"None of us apprentices are getting the training we need," Beechpaw murmured. "Our mentors barely have the time to make sure we perform our moves right, much less teach us new ones."

"I was supposed to become a warrior in a half moon," Wolfpaw muttered, half to himself as frustration seeped into his voice. "But at this point I'll be lucky if it happens in two."

"So the clan doesn't have much time to train you right now," Beechpaw continued. "I _suppose_ that you could become an apprentice, formally at least, but your training would be really slow. It's all up to Icetail and Gorsewater right now, and they do kind of have more pressing issues."

Poppykit looked down. They had a point. EclipseClan had lost a good portion of their warriors when the Twolegs had come, leaving an imbalance between the warriors and the apprentices/kits. There were just as many elders, kits, and apprentices as there were warriors in the clan! No wonder she'd been so hungry lately, and that Fallowcloud and Silverfall had started taking turns going on patrols. She should've noticed the problem earlier.

"Beechpaw! Wolfpaw!" The three looked up to see Wheatclaw striding towards them, Cloudfeather at her side. "We're scouting out a path today with Gorsewater and Tornwhisker. Wolfpaw, you're with Cloudfeather today; on a hunting patrol."

"Coming!" Beechpaw replied, trotting off to meet his mentor. Wolfpaw flattened his ears and scowled.

"I love my father and all, but sometimes I wish that Icetail had time for me," he muttered. Again, he didn't really seem to be addressing her. "I'm so close to becoming a warrior!"

Poppykit sighed as the gray and black apprentice trotted away. What was she going to do now? She wanted to learn how to be a warrior, not sit around and play like a kit! Her claws unsheathed and dug into the ground. Completely unfair. It wasn't _her_ fault they had to leave. Stupid Twolegs. Why couldn't have more warriors survived?

"Poppykit!" The tortoiseshell she-cat turned around, surprised, to see the ginger pelt of Cherrykit dashing over to her. Her sister skidded to a halt, bringing up dust in a cloud around her and causing her to cough. Poppykit couldn't help but laugh at the scene, despite her earlier despondent mood. "Don't laugh at me! That was an accident!"

"Poppykit! Tell us another one of your stories!"

Poppykit looked down to see Creekkit and Graykit dash up, tumbling over each other their rush to do so. At two moons old, they were the youngest cats in the clan, being Silverfall and Tornwhisker's second litter (after Wheatclaw, Lilymist, and Feathermist), and bounced between cute and annoying in Poppykit's book. They were too small to roughly play with like she could Cherrykit and Cowkit, but they looked up to her when the rest of the clan seemed to think she was too little to do anything.

"Yeah!" Graykit piped up, drawing Poppykit out of her thoughts. "I dunno how you make them up, but they're so good!"

"Okay. Let's go sit by the apprentice's den, then," Cherrykit declared, sticking her tail up in the air. "They claimed the space below the chestnut tree; it'll be the best place to sit and listen."

Poppykit's ears burned slightly, and she licked a paw and drew it over them in embarrassment before jumping up to follow her denmates. Graykit and Creekkit plopped down side-by-side, both staring up at her with identical blue eyes. Cherrykit sent her a knowing look, silently mouthing "they're so cute!" before sitting next to her.

"Do you have any new stories, Poppykit?" Graykit asked.

"Yeah! I want to know what happens to Brambleclaw, Stormfur and the tribe cats!" Creekkit added, fidgeting.

Poppykit nodded, forcing away her depressing thoughts from earlier and focusing on the story the younger kits wanted told. Spottedleaf had finished up that story last night, and she remembered most of it, enough to retell the story. It was sad, but she was sure the kits could handle it.

"Well," She began, leaning forward like Spottedleaf did when she hit a suspenseful part of the story. "As you know, Brambleclaw had just left to find the Tribe of Rushing Water again. He and the other clan cats knew that they had to get Stormfur back, but what actually happened was something very different…."

* * *

"Curious. I don't think I've ever seen something like this before."

Blazingpelt shrugged, not really caring about the scene in the pool in front of her. It was just some idiotic kits in the clan. Certainly she could see what her partner saw in them, but it didn't make the dumb kits any less boring.

"I don't see what's so special about them." Ashfeather, sitting across from them, seemed to be having the same line of thought. Her forest-green eyes met Blazingpelt's darker ones, and the the scarred she-cat hissed warningly. The former EclipseClan medicine cat ignored her with a cold aloofness, turning away only after she had made her point.

"I _hate_ agreeing with Ashfeather," Blazingpelt spat once the gray she-cat had looked away. "But she has a point, loathe as I am to admit it. Sure, this kit is the one of the prophecy. Or omen, whatever you want to call it. Who cares? She can easily be manipulated to our advantage."

Her partner simply shook his head.

"You both do not understand what is about to happen. You know the kit and the warrior are central to our plans; already the kit is showing signs of _it_ beginning. Both of them together will return the clans to their former glory. You two will have to to learn how to work together until then. Do not think I cannot hear the threats you make to each other when _you sit right next to me_."

Ashfeather's long claws slid in and out, but she said nothing. Blazingpelt herself almost protested, but then thought better of it as she caught the warning tone in her partner's voice. Still, though, it was almost as if he didn't know the history between the two she-cats. If she had the chance, Blazingpelt would tear the gray she-cat limb from limb and feed her to the crows. While laughing. She'd done it before, after all, in the world of the living.

Her partner seemed to sense the tension, and sighed, as if he was babysitting two moon-old kits, which caused Blazingpelt's blood to boil in indignation. But her partner, of course, paid her no more attention. One paw was dipped gently into the starry pool, and the scene changed once again, this time to a white she-cat and dark cream she-cat with a missing ear.

"Lightstar has served his purpose well," her partner finally continued. Blazingpelt rolled her eyes. No he hadn't. The tom was a fool and she had made it known many times over when he had arrived to the Dark Forest. "No matter what you may think, Blazingpelt, he did exactly what he was supposed to do. I care little for what he does afterwards, and that includes dying. He has started the process, that is all that matters, and now we must finish it."

Sharp teeth glinted in the darkness, and both Ashfeather and Blazingpelt couldn't help but wince slightly.

"Spottedleaf will play— _is_ playing—her part well. When Poppykit is ready, we will start the next phase."

Ashfeather dipped her head in agreement, and Blazingpelt followed suit, though more slowly as her eyes searched for any hint of deception on her partner's face. As usual, she found no emotion at all.

"As you predict, sir."

* * *

 **Yeah. So Poppykit is delayed in her apprenticeship and has become the nursery storyteller. And Blazingpelt has her first appearance since the first prologue! I was honestly going to end this chapter with Poppykit, but then this ending scene popped in and I** _ **finally**_ **know what I'm doing with this story! It's all falling into place now and I'm on cloud nine.**

 **Reviews** **!**

 **AnonChan1** —Yeah. Considering what's going on in this chapter, there really is going to be no easy solution. And (*Spoiler!*) you just met the guy messing with StarClan and the living. As you can tell, he's hoarding communication all to himself. And yes, Lightstar should leave. Immediately. Ashenstep may not kill him, but Vineslip would.

 **Kazumiokazaki(1)** —Again, I'm glad you like the code! As for the valuing others, well, it's in principle. We'll see how well it's executed in real life. And thanks for saying that I executed the conflict between Gorsewater and Lunarstream well. It's really touched upon in this chapter on how they do it, but it will be once we get back to Gorsewater's POV.

 **Kazumiokazaki(2)** —Thanks! I was honestly kind of worried as to whether you guys liked the switches between Gorsewater, Poppykit/paw, Ashenstep, and Blazingpelt every once in awhile. Oh, and Vineslip isn't an outcast for communicating with Opal. Her backstory is kind of complicated (and awesome; I'm trying to get her submitter to write a story about her ;-) ), but Opal is kind of like Vineslip's penance for what she did in life. And yes, like I said to AnonChan, Lightstar's in trouble, haha. And you read this story more than once!? Man, you just made my day. Makes me feel bad that this chapter isn't longer.

 **I should probably shorten my review responses…**

 **ANNOUNCEMENT: I am in need of a character! Just one, an apprentice who, preferably, walks the line between good and evil. As I wrote this last scene and the review responses, the plot came into place, and I need an apprentice for it. I will take any and all submissions, but will consider submissions by those who haven't submitted OC's yet over those who have. Any submissions who don't make it will most likely still be in the story, just in different roles. Don't provide any family for this character, I'll take care of that. Thanks!**

 **So… yeah. May all your roads lead to Spottedleaf.**


	8. Lightstar isn't an Idiot!

**I don't expect to be able to update next Saturday, so here's an extra long chapter with all three main characters! It's mostly dialogue (blegh) but necessary. The next chapter will have action, I promise!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5:**

"What is a mangy piece of crow-food like you doing out here, Lightstar?"

Vineslip's fur prickled across her spine threateningly as she stepped protectively in front of Ashenstep, making sure that the former leader of EclipseClan couldn't see most of her body. The she-cat in question didn't question the motion like she usually would, too caught up in her own mind to really notice the action. For moons now, she'd wanted to speak to Lightstar. Now that he was here, however, her mind was such a mess of emotions that she could barely think straight. What should he say? "I hate you?" "Why?" seemed more appropriate. "I'm glad you made it to the afterlife" was definitely out of the picture. She didn't even know why she wanted to say that last phrase.

"I came to see her," Lightstar shrugged, voice nonchalant, and angled his ears towards Ashenstep. However, his body movements seemed almost uncomfortable as he spoke the words, his tail flickering from side to side. "We don't have to talk if she doesn't want to."

"Why now?" Vineslip retorted. "You don't have the right to see Ashenstep. Not after what you did."

Ashenstep forced herself to stand up fully and finally step away from her old friend, putting herself into full view. The silver tabby sent her a look that read ' _Don't talk to this guy, I have this under control_ ' before turning back to Lightstar. Ashenstep did the same, and her eyes met his for just a moment, before her old mentor's eyes flickered with an emotion that she couldn't identify. He looked away quickly.

"If that is true, then do you really have the right to see Ashenstep as well?" he announced a couple moments later, all trace of the emotion that she had seen earlier wiped from his voice, save for a twinge of curiosity. "After all, the only differences between you and I is that I actually succeeded in my murder plot."

Vineslip froze, her eyes glazing over as she remembered unwanted memories, and Ashenstep gasped. Lightstar knew about that?! How? Sure, practically everyone in StarClan knew, but that was because they were (or had been) able to see most of what happened in the living world. Vineslip had only made it into StarClan because she'd had a change of heart and had sacrificed herself to save her intended victim at the last moment. Even then, after her family had fought so hard for her to be accepted, she had been given Opal to train as penance.

Her story and Lightstar's were very different.

Lightstar's eyes softened when neither immediately responded, and, to her surprise, he backed down.

"I'm sorry," he apologised, and it seemed sincere. Ashenstep didn't know whether to believe him or not; Lightstar had always been a terrible liar, but then again, he had hidden his affiliation with the Dark Forest. She wasn't sure what to think of him these days. "I shouldn't have said that. Vineslip was right in saying that I have no right to remind you of your death."

"You _don't_ ," Vineslip hissed, having recovered enough to push down the shock.

"Lightstar, why are you here?" Ashenstep murmured, loud enough for the tom several foxlengths away to hear. "What do you want to say?"

The ginger-and-white tom shifted slightly, a trace of uncomfortability flashing in view again before speaking.

"You hear the voices too, don't you?"

Now it was Ashenstep's turn to freeze. She felt Vineslip's gaze turn to her, but she couldn't take her eyes off of Lightstar, who sighed, as if hearing of an answer that he didn't want to be true.

"Ashenstep, what is he talking about?" Vineslip questioned, looking confused.

"The voice. The one that whispers of killing and death." Lightstar made as if to step outside of the boundary of the Dark Forest, but then seemed to remember that he couldn't and drew back. "You hear it too, don't you?"

"Yes," Ashenstep murmured quietly, as if admitting a grievous sin. She flicked an ear at Vineslip's incredulous face, motioning that she'd explain later. "Do any of the…. _others_ with you hear it?"

"Not that I know of." Lightstar shook his head. "But that's to be expected. You and I should be the only ones, here in the afterlife, at least, to hear it."

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Instantly Ashenstep was on full guard again. If Lightstar knew about the origin and purpose of the voice, then he had information that was potentially a danger to both the worlds of the living and the dead. If the words of the voice were anything to go by.

"We live in this world, yet we know so little about it," Lightstar murmured instead of answering the question. His blue gaze flickered up to look at the darkened canopy of the Dark Forest. "Why is it that we exist after death? What created StarClan? What really created StarClan and the Dark Forest?"

"You've become much more... " Vineslip paused as she spoke, ears drawn flat as she drew herself up into a regal looking position. "Philosophical… since you've died, Lightstar. What happened to the tom who was so desperate for power that he was willing to kill for it?"

The former leader's eyes darkened. "Death, combined with the influence of the Dark Forest can have quite an impact on the psyche of a cat, Vineslip. My former self, my living self, is still here. Just evolved, if that's the correct word. You especially should have some idea of what it feels like. Trust me, it was either becoming like this or going insane."

"You were already insane, Lightstar."

"No, just weak. Easy to manipulate. The Dark Forest took advantage of that."

"Are you seriously implying that you are regretting your actions? And trying to _apologise_ for them?"

"StarClan—" the tom flushed at the slip and quickly corrected himself. " _Ancients below,_ of course not. I would like to think that I've gotten at least little bit smarter since I've died. I'm simply stating facts. How things are. I've taken it up as a sort of hobby, I suppose." He shot Ashenstep a knowing look, but didn't linger on her for long. "You of all people know how bad of a liar I can be, yet how often I did it in my life. So I've worked on being brutally honest instead."

"Fox dung," Vineslip hissed, not believing a single word. Lightstar shrugged.

"You may believe what you want to believe."

"You're twisting the direction of the conversation," Ashenstep cut in before the argument could escalate. "What do you know about the voice?"

"Not much. And what I do know I am not comfortable revealing in front of your friend here."

"You say it to both of us or not at all."

Lightstar paused for a moment, considering his former apprentice's words, then let out a long sigh and shrugged.

"Very well. I just ask that you don't reveal this to more cats than you actually have to. I certainly don't trust the cats of the Dark Forest or StarClan, and you shouldn't, either."

"I accept," Ashenstep replied quickly, before Vineslip could protest. _It doesn't matter anyways. There's nothing holding me back from screaming this to everyone in StarClan if I really wanted to._

"Thank you." Lightstar dipped his head. He glanced over his shoulder, as if trying to spot some unseen cat listening in on them, then continued. "You weren't supposed to die when you did, Ashenstep. I think we both know that. Though perhaps I do more."

The gray tabby's belly curled with grief, sharp as it had been the day she died.

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"Shut up," Vineslip hissed at Lightstar. "You tell us what you want us to know and then get out of here. Stop putting salt on the wound."

"Very well. My point is that you weren't supposed to die, Ashenstep. And when you did, you—how do I put it?—you broke some rules, and gained some very impressive abilities, such as hearing the voice, as a result. I suppose the reason I can hear it as well is because I killed you, though I can't say for sure. The two of us, we are much closer to the _Other Place_ than the others here. Sure, cats like Rabbitstar, Barkstar, and Mintdapple can sometimes receive signs from that place, but only you and I can hear the voice. Even then, it's sporadic and far in between."

The _Other Place._ Ashenstep blinked in surprise. That was what Stonekit had been referring to, hadn't she, when she'd gotten possessed by that thing several days ago?

" _Where the rest of Starclan is complacent, you are alert. Every day, standing guard against an enemy you know nothing about. You can feel it in your marrow, that Other Place. Where all things truly hungry and evil go."_

There was something connecting the voice and the thing that had possessed Stonekit, Ashenstep knew. They were two separate males, she knew that from the tone of their voices (the one she had heard just now was much deeper and more broken than the one that had come from Stonekit), but other than that she knew very little. Lightstar was still speaking, though, she decided to file the information away for later use.

"I don't know anything about the _Other Place_ , only that it is a realm or a place far superior to our own," the former leader was saying. "And that… not evil, but perhaps 'greedy,' something is trying to come here. Why, I don't know."

"And how do you know what you do?" Vineslip demanded. Lightstar's eyes flickered. Was that fear in there?

"That is for me to know and for you to figure out," he replied, stiffening. His eyes met with Ashenstep's, and they swirled with an emotion that she couldn't identify. "And though I have no right to say it, I _am_ sorry. I don't regret killing you, but I'm sorry I did it."

Then he turned tail and disappeared into the misty trees.

* * *

"So." Wheatclaw's voice was laced with a morbid amusement. "This is where StarClan wanted us to go? Because I'm finding myself seriously doubting it."

"This is both awe-inspiring and terrifying," Tornwhisker admitted.

Beechpaw and Lilymist were both just staring at what was in front of them.

Gorsewater and Icetail just shared a look, leader and "deputy" both sharing the same thought: how were they going to bluff their way out of this one?

In front of them was a Twoleg nest. But it wasn't like the widespread, usually inactive nests that had bordered EclipseClan's old territory. There were dozens of almost identical nests, all lined up neatly in a row as far as they could see on both sides. There was a hard mesh fence separating the nest in front of them from the forest, and there was distant roaring sound from behind the nests, which rose and fell in volume every couple minutes.

"I haven't ever seen a place like this before," Lilymist murmured, her amber eyes flickering across the scene before them, almost panicked. "How are we supposed to go through this?"

"I don't think we can," Tornwhisker replied, just as softly. "I think I may have heard about a place like this from a passing loner a couple seasons ago. He was pretty old and just passing through, but he talked a lot about the places he had been. He mentioned coming from a place with a lot of Twoleg nests and monsters all in one place. He called it… what was it, again? Icetail, you were there. Do you remember?"

"Yes," the white tom responded, looking away from Gorsewater. "He called it a _bilage_ , I think. He said it was nice place, but large and easy to get lost in if you didn't know the place."

"Then why did StarClan send us here?" Beechpaw asked, looking small. "They said to go this way; why is there such a big obstacle in the way if we our new home is behind something like this?"

"Well, I doubt we could peacefully bring the clan through," Wheatclaw commented sarcastically. "Could you imagine it? 'Excuse me, don't mind the strange clan cats, just passing through!' Any loners nearby would _love_ that."

"Quiet, Wheatclaw," Icetail scolded her lightly, and the light ginger she-cat rolled her eyes. "We'll just have to go around it. What do you say about that, Gorsewater?"

"Yes." Gorsewater could hardly hear his own voice as he gazed up at the Bilage. "Yes, we'll have to go around. StarClan said that we had to go in this direction, not that there wouldn't be challenges along the way."

"Could the clan even make it?" Lilymist murmured, her eyes flickering with concern. Tornwhisker gave his daughter a comforting lick on the ear.

"We'll make it," he responded with a weak confidence. Beechpaw shuffled his feet, looking apprehensive at the thought of adding so much distance to their already long journey.

"But perhaps we could give the clan some time to rest," Icetail suggested. "This forest may not be territory worthy, but it probably has enough prey to host us for a little while."

"Yes," Gorsewater nodded, forcing his eyes away from the Bilage and towards his clanmates. "Let's stay here for half moon, maybe more." He hurriedly continued at his clanmate's surprise at suggesting rest for so long. "Listen, we need to speed up the training of our apprentices. Before we start the next leg of our journey, I have a feeling that we're going to need all the strength and skill we can get."

* * *

"Cats of EclipseClan, please gather by the fresh-kill pile for a clan meeting!"

Poppykit looked up from where she'd been finishing up the story of Leafpaw finding the Moonpool to see what was going on. Next to her, Creekkit and Graykit popped up together from where they had been lying down together, eyes wide.

"What's going on?" Creekkit asked, shaking out her gray tabby fur. Poppykit shrugged, looking out the door of the makeshift nursery den to see what was the matter. Gorsewater and his patrol had only arrived back at camp an hour ago, and the news of whatever the Bilage was and the fact that they'd be staying in the forest for a half moon had spread like wildfire. Poppykit herself wasn't sure what to think of it, but Wolfpaw and Leafpaw had seemed so happy at the thought of their training picking up again that she couldn't help but feel excited.

"Well, aren't you going to see what's going on?" Rainpaw asked from where she'd been eating nearby; she'd also been listening to Poppykit's story. "I am!"

"Wait for me!" Creekkit squealed, jumping onto her feet (and startling Graykit so that he jumped a mousetail in the air), and running to catch up with the apprentice.

"I'm coming!" Poppykit announced at the same time, also standing up and stretching out her back legs before following at a slower but still quickened pace, Graykit at her heels.

There was no raised area for the clan to gather around, not like the old tree stump that had been in the old camp, so Gorsewater had taken a place in the center of camp, near the fresh-kill pile, to call the meeting. Many of the warriors were already there, and the four cats had to squeeze past Goldenbelly and Hailstripe to get a good view of their leader.

"Poppykit! Cherrykit! There you are!"

The two sisters looked up to see Fallowcloud rushing towards them, Sharpeye on her heels. Cowkit trotted between them, his fur plastered down so that it shone like a riverstone, mouthing ' _run_ ' over and over again.

Poppykit and Cherrykit didn't stand a chance.

Fallowcloud and Sharpeye descended upon them, grooming the two sisters quickly. Poppykit squeaked and tried to wriggle away, but Fallowcloud just stifled a laugh and continued. After a minute or two, they were done, and Poppykit quickly bounded away.

"What was that for?!" Cherrykit exclaimed.

The corner of Sharpeye's mouth twitched upwards.

"You'll see," he purred. Before Poppykit could question his words, Gorsewater began the meeting.

"Cats of Eclipseclan! We are all gathered here today to celebrate something very special. Three of our kits have passed their sixth moon, and it is high time we allowed them to become apprentices, despite the situation we are in."

Cowkit gasped as Poppykit and Cherrykit exchanged delighted looks. Was this why Gorsewater had wanted to stop their journey for a half moon, so that they could learn the basics of apprenticeship? Poppykit felt very special and touched. They were going to become apprentices, despite what Wolfpaw and Beechpaw had said!

"However," Gorsewater continued. "As you may know, I do not have the authority, without my nine lives, to perform such a ceremony." He paused for a moment, something flickering in his eyes, but pressed on. "But I've spoken with Lunarstream, Bluefang, and Goldenfur, and we've come upon an agreement to keep our respect to StarClan, while continuing on with normal clan life. All apprentices and warriors will gain their new names, and in the apprentice's case, a mentor. They will live as if they were in the rank they are appointed to. Once I gain my nine lives, we will repeat the ceremonies, this time with StarClan's authority."

An appreciative murmur rippled through the clan. Poppykit couldn't help the wave of admiration that rippled through her. Gorsewater was so cool! She didn't even think of that problem!

"So without further ado, Cherrykit, will you please step forwards?"

Her sister didn't need any further prompting. Cherrykit launched herself forwards, almost bumping into Gorsewater before skidding to a halt. Creekkit and Graykit giggled, and Poppykit smiled at how silly her sister could be.

"Cherrykit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Cherrypaw. Your mentor will be Lilymist, and I hope she will pass down all she knows on to you."

Cherrypaw grinned as said she-cat stepped forwards, touching noses with the tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat.

"That's a good idea, brother," she overheard Sharpeye murmuring to himself. "Lilymist has been wanting an apprentice for a long time."

"Poppykit, will you please step forwards?"

The ginger tortoiseshell flicked her tail at Cowkit. The two siblings grinned at each other one last time as kits before Poppykit stepped forwards, taking Cherrypaw's place as she and Lilymist returned to the rest of the clan.

"Poppykit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Poppypaw. Your mentor will be Hailstripe, and I hope she will pass down all she knows to you."

Poppypaw grinned as the elder warrior stepped up, and they touched noses. Hailstripe's eyes twinkled, and Poppypaw giggled, elated. She was (un)officially an apprentice now!

"Cowkit, please step forwards!" Her brother did so. "Cowkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Cowpaw. Your mentor will be Brightbelly. I hope he will pass down all he knows on to you."

Cowpaw looked up in awe as the second-eldest warrior in the clan walked forwards, bending down to touch noses with him. Gorsewater smiled over at the three newest apprentices.

"Cowpaw! Cherrypaw! Poppypaw! Cowpaw! Cherrypaw! Poppypaw!"

Poppypaw drew herself up as the clan cheered, feeling very warm inside.

And even though they were in the middle of unknown territory, she had never felt more at home.

* * *

 **Bilage Bilage Bilage. I love this word XD. Obviously the loner meant 'village,' and Icetail didn't remember the word right.**

 **The last bit is a slightly rushed, so let me know if there are any mistakes. I've also cleaned up the prologues and put the allegiances (with some needed updates) in the first prologue. I suggest you check it out really quick.**

 **I'm still accepting submissions for that apprentice I requested earlier.**

 **Reviews:**

 **AnonChan1** —Yep, any signs from StarClan that Lunarstream or Gorsewater "receive" are currently not true and made up. Yes, the 'deputy's' name is Icetai. Easy to forget. It hasn't been stated outright yet (most likely will be in the next chapter or the one after), but whenever Poppykit sleeps now, she finds Spottedleaf. The stories she tells are from her. And trust me, Ashfeather and Blazingpelt have quite the history. Thank Sunny for submitting Ashfeather, by the way :-).

 **Celtic Silver** —I will always use this outro now ;-P. Wolfpaw is much more cheerful than his parents, while Leafpaw takes more after Cloudfeather. I just haven't had the chance to put her in much yet. And yeah, Poppykit/paw is still a kid, so she'll be selfish. I won't judge you for judging her though, haha. Ashfeather is my favorite villain right now, precisely because she is an evil medicine cat.

 **Johnzwis** —Thanks so much for coming! I love getting a new follower :-). Yes, the Dark Forest doesn't have very good plans for Poppypaw, it seems. And the warrior will be revealed soon enough!

 **IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Okay, I've previously had a very good week. I've joined a new forum called LightningClan (admin'ed by —check it out!), and found something else while browsing a couple days ago: we have a fanfiction of a fanfiction! Johnzwis was very kind and wrote short story of what s/he thought was Lunarstream/Ashfeather's backstory. And s/he got a couple parts right as well! I really recommend reading and reviewing. I feel so honored!**

 **So… yeah. May all your roads lead to Spottedleaf. See you all in two weeks!**

 ***Is extremely happy.***


	9. Training

**Have I ever mentioned that Feathermist is** _ **by**_ _**far**_ **my favorite character? I'm so happy I got to write him a bit in this chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6:**

Newleaf was here to stay.

It was easy to see, even to the untrained eye, that leaf-bare had finally loosened its hold on the world. Though the early mornings still held a harsh chill to them that stung the lungs, midday had warmed up considerably, and the elders were beginning to sun themselves once more. Little pinpricks of green were popping up on the branches of the trees, soon-to-be leaves, and the last pockets of snow hiding out in crevices had finally melted away. The air had a new freshness to it, at least during midday, with the scent of flowers just barely detectable if one really tried to scent it.

Last newleaf had come at the tail end of a hard leaf-bare. The clan had suffered in that time, losing Braveclaw (Spiderfang and Blizzardstone's mother) and her young daughter, Flamekit, to greencough. The season had lasted longer than usual, and when the buds on the trees appeared and the snow finally melted away, the clan had celebrated for days. Gorsewater could remember it clearly: Wolfpaw and Leafpaw, still moon-old kits, jumping and laughing as they saw green for the first time. Even Vineslip and Cloudfeather, usually so stoic and unfeeling, had smiled, the latter even playing with his kits as Lilymist watched, grinning. Sheepheart had found the first blooming flower on the outskirts at camp, and Sunstar and Ferretheart practically had to order everyone out on patrols so that the clan actually got some work done instead of ogling at it the whole day. They had been smiling while they did so, however, and Sunstar had seemed almost hesitant to leave the flower himself, ironically.

Ashenstep had come to him in a bundle of energy hardly a couple days later, nearly bursting into tears multiple times out of pure joy; she was the happiest he had ever seen her (and that was saying something). Feathermist had taken her to a grove, she'd said, the one with the cherry blossoms that had just bloomed, and had asked her to be his mate—

"No, Cherrypaw. Lower your haunches, and put your weight on you hind legs. You'd have lost the mouse by now if you were hunting."

Lilymist's stern command snapped Gorsewater out of his thoughts, and he blinked, shaking his head and berating himself for losing his train of thought. Instead, he forced himself to focus on the ginger apprentice as she muttered complaints for only herself to hear and lowered her haunches more, this time putting too much weight on her backside. When she attempted the hunting pounce again, she only leapt a small ways, and stumbled on the landing.

It had been Icetail's idea to get all the warriors who were training apprentices (that is, most of the clan's warriors) out together on this breezy afternoon. Not really having anywhere to be and deciding that he could assess Beechpaw while he was at it (the tom was approaching his third moon of apprenticeship and thus his midterm assessment) he had decided to tag along. Things were certainly going well—mostly, that was.

Gorsewater had hoped that apprenticing the hyperactive and easily distracted Cherrypaw to the more calm and hard working Lilymist would help to put a damper on some of her extra energy. He'd thought that Lilymist was going to teach Cherrypaw the value of putting in effort to her work, but he had to have forgotten something, because that wasn't how it turned out.

Lilymist—how could he put it?—wasn't a good teacher. To Cherrypaw, at least. Gorsewater was quickly coming to realise that apprenticing Cowpaw to her would have been a much better decision. He'd judged Cherrypaw's character completely wrong. Where he had expected her to resist at first and then back down, the ginger she-cat had stubbornly planted her feet on the ground and said 'no, you move,' whenever directly challenged. Lilymist had then countered by using commands and being more forceful, which then strengthened Cherrypaw's resolve and started the whole process anew again. In the ten days since she'd been apprenticed, Cherrypaw had already been sent to clean the elder's den four times.

For StarClan's sake, there he was, internally monologuing again!

Still, though, he couldn't help but feel guilty that he'd paired two incompatible and stubborn cats together. It was his fault, honestly.

"Cherrypaw, try doing it like this." Gorsewater looked up to see Icetail padding over to the mentor and apprentice. He took his own hunting stance, and motioned for the young apprentice to copy him. "You've got most of the form right, you just have to find your balance."

Cherrypaw gave the senior warrior a long, hard look, as if debating whether to defy him or not. The white warrior simply waited patiently, until the ginger apprentice let out a long sigh and tried again, this time getting her balance almost completely right. Icetail gave her a nod, and she pounced, sailing high through the air and landing with only a slight stumble.

"Hey, I did it!" She cheered, grinning. "Thanks, Icetail!"

"Thank your mentor," Icetail replied evenly, declining the opportunity to take credit for her success. "She did most of the work. I just asked you to put it into practice."

Cherrypaw's face fell, but Icetail gave her a chastising look, and she huffed.

"Thanks, Lilymist," she drawled, making it obvious that she had been forced to do so. Lilymist gave her a false smile, thinly veiling her frustration.

"Of course, Cherrypaw. Try that again, will you?" And then Cherrypaw actually _listened_. Gorsewater blinked in surprise; how could he garner obedience from the rebellious apprentice so easily? But Lilymist didn't seem to upset that Cherrypaw had only listened to her deputy, just giving Icetail a thankful look. After a moment, he returned to helping Wolfpaw practice a rather complicated battle move with Leafpaw.

StarClan, why wasn't Icetail leading EclipseClan again? If only Lightstar hadn't been such a weak leader, then maybe he would have noted how Icetail was the obvious choice for leader after him. If he was being even more honest to himself, though, Gorsewater knew that Icetail should've been leader after Sunstar and Ferretheart had died. The only reason why he hadn't was because Lunarstream had received a sign revealing that Lightstar was to be leader.

"Yay, Cherrypaw! You got the hunting stance!" Cowpaw bounded over to his sister from where he'd been practicing with Poppypaw. He had been much quicker in picking up the basics of hunting, getting it down in only a few days. The black and white tom gave his sister a lick on the cheek, and Cherrypaw pounced on him, eliciting a squeal from the smaller tom. They battled on the dusty ground for a couple moments before Cherrypaw came out on top.

"I win!" She cheered.

"Well, I would like to have my apprentice back," Goldenbelly put in cheerfully, padding up to the two. Cherrypaw rolled her eyes exaggeratedly and got off of her brother, who hurriedly scrambled to hide behind his mentor. "Come on, Cowpaw! I'm teaching you battle moves."

"Yeah, hurry up!" Poppypaw put in from her place next to Hailstripe. "Hailstripe says that if we learn a lot in the next couple days, we can fight Rainpaw!"

"Fighting is hard!" Cowpaw complained instead. "I don't like it!"

" _Hunting_ is hard!" Cherrypaw shot back. Goldenbelly just shook his head good-naturedly and grabbed his apprentice by the scruff of his neck, hauling him over to Poppypaw, much to the tom's embarrassment.

"Hah! Cowpaw's getting treated like a kit!" Cherrypaw laughed. Lilymist cuffed her apprentice over the ear.

Content that Cherrypaw and her littermates were doing well enough, Gorsewater shifted his attention to the other side of the small clearing that they had claimed for training. Rainpaw was going over hunting techniques with her mentor, Feathermist. Every so often, however, the spotted tabby would get distracted, asking some random question that popped into her head. However, Feathermist would only laugh softly, answering her question before expertly directing her attention back to the task at hand once again.

But Gorsewater wondered sometimes if Feathermist regretted taking her as an apprentice. Rainpaw was very similar to Ashenstep back in her own apprentice moons.

Next to her, Beechpaw also practiced hunting moves, though his didn't seem to be going as well. Wheatclaw was trying to show him the proper position to catch birds on low-hanging branches, but he couldn't seem to get the height he needed in his jumps to get the move right.

Maybe some real-world practice would do these two apprentices good. Gorsewater was getting a little tired of just sitting around anyways, and he and Wheatclaw could assess Beechpaw while they were out.

"Feathermist!" He called. The gray-and-white mottled tom looked up from where he was adjusting Rainpaw's stance. "Do you think Rainpaw would like some real practice?"

"Yes!" The young she-cat burst, cutting off any response Feathermist would've given. She then lowered her ears in embarrassment once she realized that she had done so. Her mentor merely laughed, however, and nodded.

"I do believe that she's spoken for me," he chuckled. Gorsewater smiled and turned to Wheatclaw and Beechpaw.

"Wheatclaw, care to come along? We can grab some prey along the way."

"Gladly," the ginger she-cat replied as Beechpaw perked up. Immediately Rainpaw was at her friend's side, babbling about how they were going to catch the _biggest_ rabbits, and he sent a look to Wheatclaw for help. His mentor simply shot him a knowing look and walked over to Feathermist with a laugh.

"Icetail, could you keep an eye on things?" Gorsewater called. "Feathermist, Wheatclaw, their apprentices and I are going to go out hunting and patrol for a little bit."

Icetail gave a noise of affirmation, only taking a moment to peel his eyes away from Wolfpaw to nod.

"Yes, that's a good idea," he agreed, though his voice betrayed a hint of a deeper meaning that Gorsewater was able to pick up easily. Icetail was glad that he was starting to take more of an initiative in leading. A warmth spread in the new leader's chest. Icetail's pride was something to be cherished.

"Let's go, then," he nodded to his companions, and they left the training clearing as Cherrypaw's whine of 'Why can't we go out?' and Lilymist's snappish reply of 'Because you have yet to get your hunting pose right twice in a row' floated over to them. Rainpaw giggled.

"I like Cherrypaw. She's so silly."

"More like stubborn," Wheatclaw muttered. "I'm glad I got Beechpaw instead of her."

Said apprentice licked his chest fur in embarrassment as Gorsewater sent the warrior a sharp look. Wheatclaw simply snorted, mouth quirking, and moved to take the front of the patrol. Feathermist raised his eyes to StarClan, as if asking them for help.

"Keep an eye out for prey," Gorsewater called, deciding to just let the comment slide. "If you hear any, Beechpaw and Rainpaw get the first chance to catch it."

The group quieted then, and they continued on for a little while. They were heading on a trail that the clan had blazed during their stay in the forest, running roughly parallel to the Bilage. Hailstripe had led a patrol out in this direction a couple days ago, and had reported an owl's nest in an oak tree along the path, which meant that there was a steady supply of prey to be found. Hopefully, the elder warrior's assessment was correct, and they'd find something soon.

"I smell something," Wheatclaw muttered after a short while. Gorsewater opened his mouth to try and catch what she had, and soon scented a trace of mouse. "Beechpaw."

The silver-and-white tom stepped forwards as the rest of the patrol stopped, trying to detect the scent himself. He had to concentrate for several heartbeats, but eventually his ears shot up and he lowered himself into a hunting crouch. Rainpaw stepped on a twig. Feathermist shushed her.

Beechpaw veered off to the left, and soon his tail whisked out of sight as he crouched under a bush. Wheatclaw followed behind him, leaping with strong legs into a low-hanging tree branch to keep an eye on her apprentice but also to stay out of the way. She took a couple more jumps across the canopy before she too was gone. Gorsewater sat down, and Feathermist followed suit as they waited. Too full of energy to stay still, Rainpaw remained standing, tail flickering from side to side.

There was a crash, and the two warriors shot up. Then a yowl followed suit, and there was a crashing in the undergrowth. Gorsewater's heart leapt into his throat. It had only been a couple minutes; what could've happened? It was Feathermist recovered first as he thought, dashing into the undergrowth and towards the sound. Gorsewater shook his head, trying to clear it of the shocked mist that had fallen over his mind and scrambled to follow the warrior, Rainpaw on his heels.

They rounded a large oak tree to find the tail end of a quick scuffle. Feathermist, having arrived shortly before them, had tackled a small white she-cat. He had her pinned in a hold, ears flat and hissing to make himself look as threatening as possible. Beechpaw was crouched down by a mangled mouse, a set of thin scratches along his flank. He was obviously terrified from whatever had happened. Wheatclaw had taken a spot next to Feathermist, also looking extremely pissed off.

"What happened?" The gray tom demanded. Feathermist shrugged as best he could while keeping up the hold on the she-cat, who was beginning to struggle even more.

"Wheatclaw was fighting her when I came in," he reported. "Caught the she-cat off guard."

"Beechpaw was going for the mouse when the she-cat pounced on it," Wheatclaw picked up where Feathermist had left off. "They fought for it." She sniffed haughtily. "Obviously, we won."

"Alright, alright!" The she-cat gasped. "You can have the mouse! I'm sorry, I didn't notice the tom until it was too late! I just didn't want to give it up easily."

Gorsewater frowned, taking in the she-cat closely. She was small and white, with darker seal points and leaf-green eyes. Small nicks and other scars dotted her pelt; slightly unusual for a cat who couldn't have been much older than Spiderfang.

"Let her go," he sighed. "She couldn't have known we were here."

Wheatclaw snorted as Feathermist simply shrugged, stepping off of the white she-cat. She sat up slowly, poised to run but not dashing off just yet. Her eyes flickered from cat to cat, almost as if she was trying to remember them. Odd, since they almost certainly couldn't have met before.

"Where are you from?" She asked quietly. Wheatclaw hissed slightly, and the she-cat winced but continued on. "I've seen you around these last couple days. There's hardly any cats this close to the Twolegplace. Then suddenly there's dozens of you."

 _Is that what the cats around here call the bilage?_ Gorsewater thought, filing the name away for later before answering.

"My name is Gorsewater. I'm the leader of EclipseClan." The gray tabby did his best to gather an authoritative persona around him, raising his head and straightening his posture. He tried to ignore the rapid beating of his heart as his introduced himself as leader to someone outside of the clan. "The gray-and-white tom is Feathermist, the ginger she-cat Wheatclaw, and the tom you attacked is Beechpaw."

The she-cat froze, eyes flickering from the cats before freezing on Gorsewater.

"I've heard about you…" she murmured, shocked. "You're EclipseClan, the clan that lives in that ravine far away! I've heard stories about you! Why are you all the way out here?"

"What are you talking about?" Feathermist questioned, tilting his head. "Who _are_ you? And how could have you heard about us?"

"I'm Opal," the she-cat introduced herself. "A StarClan warrior—Vineslip—has been training me since I was a kit. I've grown up hearing stories about you; I can help you if you need it."

* * *

 **I'm not satisfied with this chapter. I feel like things are moving a bit too slowly. Can I get your guys' opinion on this? Is the pace too slow, too fast, or just right? Feel free to criticize me.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Sunny the Sky Warrior** —Oh, Ashfeather will be playing a large role in the chapters to come. I'm excited for it! And yes, Blazingpelt was the one who killed Ashfeather. So obviously they hate each other. It speaks to how powerful 'the partner' is for actually making them get along.

 **AnonChan1** —Yep, Vineslip certainly doesn't trust Lightstar. And no, Vineslip never attempted to kill Ashenstep! It was another cat entirely, and it never was completed in the first place as Vineslip died protecting that cat. I'm glad Lightstar's getting interesting. Even though I rather hate his more self-centered and idiotic living self, he's become much more reserved post-death. Blazingpelt may or may not have something to do with that. The tom Tornwhisker mentioned _was_ Teller, actually. I'm surprised you caught that! As for Icetail and Gorsewater's name, I rather like them. Icetail is a completely ordinary name for an extraordinary cat, while Gorsewater's more unique name masks his normality. Yay, irony!

 **KazumioKazaki** —This takes place after _The Last Hope_ , so Spottedleaf has already been killed. You'll be seeing more canon characters in the next chapter, actually, if everything goes as planned. And yes, Poppykit and her siblings are now apprentices!

 **Guest** —Yay, my first criticism! Thank you very much for bringing up this issue, and I did consider your suggestions carefully. However, I've decided to keep the original designs. After all this is _Warriors_ , where tortoiseshell toms (looking at you, Redtail) exist. Also, most of these characters belong to submitters while the rest have lived in my head for over nine months now. I'm used to picturing/describing them a certain way, and rewriting the whole story would be a bit counterproductive. So sorry about this, but thank you so much for bringing this us.

 **Accepting Rogues/that one apprentice I outlined earlier. I'll be posting the character outline and the allegiances on my profile so you guys can keep track of everyone.**

 **So… yeah.**


	10. Fire Alone Can Save Our Clan

**It's the 25th! I made the deadline! Barely… Writer's block sucks.**

 **I also wrote a canon one-shot to this story,** _ **A Blessing or a Curse (Definitely a Curse)**_ **, so please go check it out!**

 **Anyways, here we go! :-)**

* * *

 **Chapter 7:**

"They're here! Ashfall and Thornmask are back!"

Ashenstep looked up from where she and Roseberry had been sunning themselves near the base of the mountains. Stonekit and Fawnkit bother bounded up to her in large bundles of fur, the former almost tripping over herself in excitement.

"They've returned from the four clans!" Roseberry gasped, shooting up. "That's good. They were a day late; I was getting worried."

Ashenstep stood up as well, though she remained silent. What was going to happen now? If the four clans' StarClan was cut off as well, how were they going to contact the living world? She and the rest of the EclipseClan StarClan had been caught in a state of apprehension for the past half moon, ever since Mintdapple, Rabbitstar, and Braveclaw had left. Thornmask and Ashfall had both offered to go on Mintdapple's patrol, leaving their three kits behind. So far, only Rabbitstar had returned, bringing Fawnstep, a former SkyClan medicine cat, and Rainfur, a former warrior, to help out here. Apparently SkyClan had lost contact as well, which had only amplified the worry for the world of the living.

Her and Vineslip's conversation with Lightstar hadn't very much, either, and the two friends were still trying to decipher what he had said. It simply made no sense. Vineslip trusted none of his words, and Ashenstep was tempted to follow her example, but this situation just didn't make sense, and Lightstar's words were the only clues she had to figuring out this mystery.

Well, the only clues she wanted to acknowledge. She was pretty sure hearing voices was a good thing.

"Where are they?" She finally asked.

"By the Redwood Tree. We saw 'em while exploring," Fawnkit reported, referring to a large tree near the border of StarClan's territory and pretty close by. Roseberry nodded and beckoned for the two to follow her. Together, the two she-cats and two kits took off to see what was going on, passing by several other cats before making it to the tree.

Barkstar and Rabbitstar were already there when they arrived, and the latter was quick to reunite with his mate, the two exchanging soft, hurried words that no one else could hear. Behind them were four foreign cats: a flame-pelted tom, a mottled brown tom, a dark gray she-cat, and a black-and-white tom.

"Mother! Father!" Stonekit called, dashing forwards with Roseberry on her heels. Together, they greeted their parents, who had been sitting next to the unfamiliar cats.

"What happened?" Roseberry added, worried, as Ashenstep reached them, walking at a slower pace. Thornmask huffed, obviously a bit frustrated, but it was Ashfall who answered.

"The four clans have lost contact as well," she announced heavily. Ashenstep couldn't help but wince to herself. That wasn't good at all. At this rate, the Tribe of Endless Hunting would have no communication with the clans either, and they'd be at a dead end. "We left Robinpelt—" She was a StarClan cat who had been on the patrol— "With the four clans, and they chose a cat from each of the clans to visit us."

"I don't like it," Thornmask muttered. "Something is seriously wrong, and I don't think it's natural."

Ashenstep frowned, mind flying back to what Lightstar had said about the creation of StarClan and the Dark Forest. Perhaps her old mentor had been onto something there. She wanted to speak to him again, but that meant meeting with him, and she just couldn't find the strength in herself to do so.

"You have a point." The group turned to see one of the four unfamiliar cats come up to them. Ashfall dipped her head to him in respect, and motioned for the other five to do the same. Ashenstep was quick to obey. This tom had a sense of regalness and overall importance about him, an air that demanded others around him give him respect. Yet he also seemed kind, his eyes softening when they landed on Fawnkit and Stonekit. "This isn't a natural event."

"This is Firestar," Ashfall introduced. "The most recent leader of ThunderClan. He's been the subject of several prophecies, from what I hear, and is experienced with abnormal situations like these."

Ashenstep blinked. Prophecies? EclipseClan hadn't had one of those for seasons… she couldn't even remember what the last one had been about. Firestar must've been a very important tom in life if he'd been subject to more than one.

"Do you have any idea what's causing this?" She finally answered. Firestar flicked an ear.

"A few ideas, though none have any hard evidence yet."

"That's all anyone has," Thornmask muttered to himself, tail flickering. It was obvious the tom was frustrated, not being able to stop any of this. Ashenstep shook her head. Nothing indeed.

"Firestar!" Said tom turned to see the black-and-white tom calling to them. "Barkstar wishes to speak with us."

"Of course, Tallstar." Firestar dipped his head towards the group. "Excuse me."

Ashenstep dipped her head and she watched as Firestar walked back over to Tallstar and Barkstar. As she watched, the dark gray she-cat shot her a low look while the mottled brown tom murmured something in her ear. Muttering something back, the gray she-cat turned back towards the others. She couldn't help but think it was odd. Something in her belly tugged her towards Firestar. Something was… off… about the tom. She just couldn't figure out what.

"Ashenstep!" Said she-cat jolted as Roseberry repeated her name, drawing the young warrior out of her thoughts. "You're doing that spacey-eyed thing again."

Ashenstep licked her chest fur in embarrassment. "Was I? Sorry."

Stonekit giggled. "You need to stop thinking so much," she laughed. "You always spoke whatever was one your mind where you were living. Now you just think and think."

"It's so weird," Fawnkit agreed. Ashenstep shook her head.

"I have a lot to think about," she replied simply. But privately, she couldn't help but think about what Stonekit had said.

 _Say what's on your mind…_

If she had spoken what was on her mind the day she had died, perhaps things would have been different. Perhaps she'd still be living, with Feathermist and Gorsewater at her side, as well as—no, she couldn't think about that. What was done was done. Her eyes trailed over to Firestar's retreating back, the odd feeling returning.

Maybe she should be more open.

But not to her clanmates.

* * *

The forest clearing was small. Surrounded by bramble bushes and tall, aging trees, it created a smothering feeling around the glade. It wasn't the best place they had settled in so far, but it was home, the black she-cat reflected.

She turned and watched as her patrollers and fighters began to wake up and face the new day. Perhaps there would be little fighting today, but she knew that really wouldn't be the case. Their society was so battle-oriented, it was difficult to have a single peaceful day. Life here, especially as a fighter, was chaotic and often rather short.

But it was worth it. In the end, it was always worth it.

Whenever she found herself victorious in battle, or watching the kits play-fight as they tease each other on whether they'd be chosen to become Fighters or Patrollers.

It was worth it.

But sometimes it seemed like it wasn't.

Her fighters were cruel. She had come into power too young, too soon, and now she had trouble controlling them. Sometimes they would kill, and she could do nothing. Sometimes they even unleashed their pent-up energy on the Patrollers, which really crossed the line.

She'd talk with Jasper about it, but in the end nothing changed.

But as she watched the clearing come alive, she thought that perhaps it was time for a change. A real one, this time.

* * *

 **I really do need more OCs, even if they're just filler.**

 **Sorry about the shorter chapter, but technically if you count the one-shot I've written around 7,000 words this month. Not too bad for being extremely busy.**

 **I'm also moving the deadline from every week to every two weeks. Things are crazy and I don't see my situation calming down anytime soon. Plus, this will give me an opportunity to write ahead and plan out this story more. I hope you all can understand.**

 **Reviews:**

 **AnonChan1** —Yeah, Blazingpelt's a jerk. Icetail is amazing, and I'm glad that you liked how I wrote Cherrypaw and Lilymist's relationship. And yeah, Hailstripe is a pretty good match for Poppypaw, in my opinion. Yay for the apprentices of EclipseClan!

 **Sunny the Sky Warrior** —I read your PM. Thanks for the help!

 **AnonChan1(A Blessing or a Curse)** —Hope you don't mind that I'm replying to your review here. It was a pleasant surprise to see some of my non-LightningClan friends on that story! Yeah, Mintdapple's having a bit of a hard time. I couldn't fit it into the story, but her kits are actually Goldenfur, Thunderstrike, and Blazingpelt. Also, correct prediction! Crookedwhisper is a jerk. Your section on Junefrost and Barkstar make me laugh, though I have no idea why. The caps lock, I guess. I keep on reading them over and over. I'm glad you liked Barkstar so much. It's always a relief to know that I've written a character well.

 **See you all in two weeks!**

 **So… yeah.**


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